


Calm Before the Storm

by voidfangirl



Series: Hurricane 'Verse [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Crush, Disaster Bi Percy Jackson, Disaster Bi Peter Parker, First Kiss, Making Out, Multi, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, New York Vigilantes, Peter Parker's Field Trip to Stark Industries, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Updates every two weeks, get ready, no beta we die like men, this one's a doozy, wow it's gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2020-10-26 02:54:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 66,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20735072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidfangirl/pseuds/voidfangirl
Summary: Percy Jackson has two years before the world ends and this time, he has to save the entire universe. He needs to find the Infinity Stones, make allies, and navigate through the life of Peter Parker.But first, he has to get through high school.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Percy Jackson and all associated characters. All rights go to Rick Riordan. Additionally, I do not own Spider-Man or any of the characters from the MCU. All rights go to Marvel, Stan Lee, and Sony. Any thoughts/beliefs expressed by the characters are not necessarily the thoughts of the author. I do not own any of the fanart that appears in certain chapters. All rights go to the creators.
> 
> I do own the story idea and any original dialogue between characters. Please do not steal my ideas. If you find someone who has, please tell me. Thank you.

**Sophomore Year: Winter Break**

The diner located off the Montauk Highway was completely unremarkable. It had not changed since it was established in 1956. The vinyl seats were ripped, old foam peeking out of the cracks. There was a jukebox against the wall of the diner, which would have added charm to the place but the only song it played was Tom Jones’s “_What’s New Pussycat_” so it didn’t get much use. 

To the average person, the diner was completely ordinary. However, at a closer glance, it had been the location of multiple events that changed the course of history. It was the diner that Poseidon took Sally Jackson on a date, resulting in the birth of Perseus Jackson. Then a friendship had been formed between two pantheons after an Egyptian magician and a Greek demigod fought a crocodile together and stumbled into the diner to rest. They were there again, but this time the magician had brought his sister and a goddess. 

Percy Jackson stared at the cat goddess, Bast, in apprehension. “Normally, when a god asks me for a favor I end up getting hurt.”

“You can trust her, Percy,” Carter reassured. 

Bast pulled up a chair to the end of the table, leaving the space next to Percy empty. It made Percy feel marginally better. It meant that he would be free to leave if he didn’t want to help her. He already knew that he would probably help her, but he didn’t need to let Bast know that. 

“Are you aware of the nation of Wakanda?” Bast asked.

Percy furrowed his brow at the unexpected question. “Everyone knows about Wakanda. The entire world thought they were a poor country but then they revealed they were actually the most technologically advanced state in the world after the new king took over.”

Bast nodded in affirmation. “That’s correct. However, there’s more to the story than that. When the nation first formed, there were five tribes settled on it. They were at war with each other until I chose a warrior from one of the tribes and gave him the power of the Black Panther through the magic of the Heart-Shaped Herb. He became the king of Wakanda, with four of the five tribes living under his rule. To keep the vibranium safe they decided to hide in plain sight from the outside world.”

“So you’re their patron goddess?” Percy asked. Bast nodded and Percy continued, “I don’t mean to be rude, but what does that have to do with me?”

“When the previous king, T’Chaka, was younger he killed his brother N’Jobu after N’Jobu betrayed Wakanda. He left N’Jobu’s son N’Jadaka, or Erik, in California. Erik grew up to become a black-ops operative under the codename Killmonger. After King T’Chaka died, his son T’Challa went home to take his place. He was only crowned king for a few days before his cousin challenged him for the throne. He defeated T’Challa in ritual combat and became the king of Wakanda. His first act as king was to burn all of the Heart-Shaped Herbs in the kingdom so no one could use the power against him,” Bast explained.

“That’s where I come in, isn’t it?” Percy interrupted. Bast’s silence answered him. “You want me to figure out a way to get into one of the most guarded countries in the world, find the king, convince him I’m not lying and then give him a magical plant, assuming I’m not killed on sight.”

Bast smirked at him.“Yes. This will be beneficial to all of the pantheons. The Wakandans will be powerful allies in the upcoming war.”

Percy sighed in resignation and leaned his head back against the booth. “When do you want me to do this?”

There was a glint in Bast’s eye and her lips quirked upwards. “Your winter break in coming up, right?”

Percy was relieved that he didn’t have to miss school. He mentally shuddered after he finished the thought. He was beginning to _enjoy_ school. His relief faded when Bast slammed a large tome in front of him. Dust rose up from the yellowed pages and Percy coughed as he accidentally inhaled some of it. Percy looked at the book in front of him. It was at least four inches thick. There was a panther head embossed on the cover, surrounded by vines. 

The goddess grinned mischievously. “That will give you plenty of time to study Wakanda’s traditions and customs so you don’t end up dead before you reach the throne room.”

***

A week later, Percy was frantically rereading the book of Wakandan customs as he shoved cereal down his throat. His cousins were sitting around the dining table, Thalia calmly nursed a cup of coffee while Nico ate a bowl of cereal, albeit much slower. They were both staring at him with amused expressions. 

Hestia walked into the room and rolled her eyes fondly when she saw him. “You’re going to choke if you keep eating like that.”

“Maybe,” Percy said through a mouthful of cereal, “but Bast is going to be here in five minutes to give me the Herb and drop me off inside the Wakandan jungle.”

Hestia walked over and gently shut the book. She laid a comforting hand on Percy’s shoulder. “You’ll do fine, Percy. You’re a natural leader. Though I don’t understand why she couldn’t just drop you off inside the palace.” 

Percy grimaced. He also wished that he could be dropped off inside the palace. Hestia shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. “I wish I could be there to see you off, but I think it’ll be best if I’m gone before she arrives.”

Percy nodded and stood up to give Hestia a quick hug. After he let go, Hestia started to glow and Percy averted his eyes on instinct. Once the light died down, Hestia was gone. 

“How are you getting back?” Nico asked curiously.

“If everything goes well, the Wakandans might offer me a trip home but I’ll summon Mrs. O’Leary if I have to,” Percy said. He didn’t think quests were ever going to be less stress-inducing.

“You got everything?” Thalia asked, changing the subject.

Percy nodded, going through the mental checklist he had. “Yeah, I’ve got everything packed in a duffel bag stored inside the Duat.”

Nico rolled his eyes and punched Percy’s shoulder. “I can’t believe you got Sadie to teach you how to use it. Do you know how useful that would be?” Nico complained. 

Percy chuckled, getting up from the table and hastily shoving his bowl in the dishwasher. “The only reason I can use it is because I was Nekhbet’s host.”

“Does this mean I can call you Bird Brain from now on?”

Percy smacked the back of his cousin’s head. Before he could retort, there was a bright light in the doorway of the room. The three demigods turned away from the light. In the light’s place was Bast. She was wearing the same leopard-print leotard as the last time Percy saw her. He gave a small nod of respect, rather than bowing. He gestured to Thalia and Nico, who had also stood up. “Lady Bast, these are my cousins, Thalia, daughter of Zeus, and Nico di Angelo, son of Hades.”

Bast smiled at them, but it was all teeth. Percy’s instincts told him that the goddess was on edge. He wasn’t surprised. She was in the apartment of three powerful Greek demigods that normally had an Olympian living there as well. The pantheons spoke every few months about the next Great Prophecy, but there was still a lot of tension. “It’s a pleasure to meet you but there’s no need for the formalities. Percy, I see you’re ready to go.” She took in his appearance and he tried not to squirm under her gaze.

Percy looked down at his outfit which Hestia had chosen for him. He was wearing a normal pair of jeans. He had on his Camp Half-Blood shirt, however, he also had a white cloak draped over his body as a symbol of the Romans. It seemed pretentious to Percy like he was trying to look more important than he actually was, but he supposed that was the point. 

Bast walked over to him and held her arm out. Percy took it and turned towards his cousins. “I’ll see you guys in a few days. Please try not to kill each other while I’m gone.”

“No promises,” Thalia responded, exchanging concealed looks of worry with Nico. It was the last thing he heard before his vision went white. When he could see again, he saw that he was surrounded by a lush green jungle. The forest floor was covered in bright colored flowers and other plants. 

Bast inhaled deeply next to him. Percy guessed that she was feeling energized from being in a place that still worshipped her. She took a moment to concentrate and her hands reached out into empty space before disappearing. When they reappeared, they were carrying two small glowing plants. They glowing purple plants looked like they had just budded, only a fraction of their true size. Percy gingerly took the plants from her and stored them in his own section of the Duat. 

“You’ll need one other thing,” Bast informed him. She gestured for him to step closer and Percy reluctantly stepped forward. She grabbed his chin and squeezed, holding him in place. Percy hissed in pain as it felt like his mouth was on fire. He pried at Bast’s hand but her grip was iron-clad. After another ten seconds, she let go and Percy stumbled back, holding his mouth.

“What was that for?” he mumbled out, glaring at her. 

She pulled a small mirror seemingly out of nowhere, holding it out for him to take.“Why don’t you take a look and stop whining?” 

Percy sighed, bracing himself for the new tattoo. This was his third one, but it was more like three very tiny ones in a row. There was a cat’s face, an eye of Horus, and an ankh. They glowed blue when he looked, lighting up the inside of his bottom lip. Percy understood the significance of a War Dogs tattoo, but he couldn’t help and roll his eyes. 

“Don’t be a child. It’ll help prove that you’re telling the truth when the time comes,” Bast told him, frowning at him. 

“I know, and it does look cool as hell. Some warning would have been good though.”

“Thank you for your approval.” Bast crossed her arms, smiling dryly to let him know she took no offense. 

Her expression turned serious again. “Did you memorize what I told you to?” She waited for Percy to nod before she continued. “Then good luck. Thank you for doing this for me, Perseus Jackson. Tap the tattoo three times in quick succession and I will come to get you. Try to avoid using that at all costs. It’s there as a last resort.”

Percy nodded, confirming that he understood. Bast offered him one last smile before she disappeared in a bright flash of light. Once she was gone, Percy looked around and analyzed his surroundings. He was surrounded by jungle on all sides. He realized that he didn’t know which direction the city was in. 

Sighing, he chose a random direction and started walking. He was tempted to pull out his sword to hack through the thick foliage but something told him not to. Instead, he picked up a sturdy tree branch that had fallen and used it to push the low hanging plants out of his way. 

He had been walking in silence for five minutes when there was a low ringing in the base of his skull. Percy stopped, closing his eyes and focusing his hearing on the area surrounding him. He could hear a group of people moving in on his position. He opened his eyes and tried to keep his body posture relaxed to prove he wasn’t a threat while also being ready to fight if he had to. 

Eight women came out of the surrounding trees. Their heads were shaved and they were all wearing the same red armor with intricate patterns and detailing. They all had a silver necklace that covered their entire throat. There was extra protection around their shoulders and forearms also in silver. One of the women had orange-toned armor, with a gold necklace and plating that marked her as a higher rank than the others. Percy recognized them as the Dora Milaje from the book. They had spears, which were pointed threateningly at him. 

Percy held his hands up in the universal gesture of surrender. “I come in peace.”

The main Dora didn’t listen to him, simply thrust her spear in his direction and gestured downwards with it. Percy understood and got down on his knees, his hands still up while his feet were spread apart. She approached him and patted him down, looking for weapons. He didn’t have anything on him, predicting this exact situation. She did find Riptide, still in pen form, and confiscated it. 

She clamped a pair of metal cuffs on him that immediately brought his hands together like they were attached by magnets. He tested the weight and found that he could only shift his hands slightly, indicating that the cuffs were most likely made of vibranium. She pushed him up with the end of her spear. The rest of the Dora Milaje formed a semi-circle behind him, herding him forward. 

They led him through the jungle in silence, the only sound was the rustling of the jungle around them. Eventually, they made it to a clearing where a futuristic jet was waiting for them. Percy stopped briefly, taking in the frame and design of the plane. As impressive as the plane was, Percy was still apprehensive about getting on it. He prayed that Zeus wouldn’t blast him out of the sky. 

One of the Dora nudged him forward with her spear and Percy reluctantly walked into the jet. The inside of the plane was just as, if not more impressive than the exterior. Percy was guided to a chair that was off to the side of the plane. Once he sat down, the seat automatically strapped him in, trapping him there. 

Percy sat in silence, observing the Dora Milaje. There were four positioned around him, standing still like statues. The main Dora was in the cockpit of the jet with another Dora. They were murmuring to each other in quiet voices. Percy recognized the language as Xhosa, which was the official language of Wakanda. 

He had only learned a few phrases in the language, and they were speaking too quickly for him to understand any of it. The more they spoke it around him, the easier it would be to understand thanks to the blessing Athena had given him. He did manage to catch the name of the main Dora, which was Okoye.

They were only in the air for ten minutes. Before they landed, Percy noticed Okoye communicate with someone who looked like the king of Wakanda through a hologram that appeared in the set of beads she was wearing around her wrist. His gaze flickered to each of the Dora Milaje and saw they all had the same bracelet around their right hand. Based on what he read, the bracelet was made of something they called Kimoyo beads, which allowed them to communicate with each other easily. 

They touched down on a landing strip outside of the place and Percy was once again surrounded by the Dora and herded out of the plane. When he got out of the plane, Percy fought the urge to look around and kept his gaze straight ahead. He had read about the beauty of Wakanda’s capital, the Golden City, but there would be time to admire it later. There were more guards and Dora Milaje waiting outside the plane. 

Okoye had taken his arm and was marching him through the palace. As they moved through the halls, Percy could feel the eyes of passing workers as they tried to stare discreetly at the stranger who had managed to get past Wakanda’s defenses. 

The door to the throne room was opened, revealing the Tribal Council with the King of Wakanda sitting in the center of them. To his right was someone that Percy recognized as Ramonda, the Queen Mother of Wakanda. To his left was the Princess of Wakanda, Shuri. 

Percy was moved to the center of the room where Okoye left him. She walked to T’Challa and stood to his left next to Shuri while the rest of the Dora Milaje moved to the side of the room. There were two guards positioned by the door, making any attempt at escape impossible.

T’Challa studied him for a few moments, leaning back in his chair like he was more curious than worried. “How did a supposed American terrorist get past Wakanda’s defenses?”

Percy couldn’t help the scoff that escaped his throat. “Is that what they’re calling me?” He always knew he’d die because he couldn’t stop being a jackass. 

“Are they wrong?” Shuri asked. It looked like Okoye was guarding the Princess but Percy recognized someone dangerous when he saw them. Okoye was guarding _him_ just in case he got too mouthy and the Princess decided to take matters into her own hands. 

Shuri continued, squinting at him. “Perseus Jackson: suspected of multiple bombings and assault. You were involved in a public gunfight at just twelve years old and have been accused of numerous crimes since then. Somehow, you’ve been exonerated of every crime you’ve committed but you're still on the CIA’s watchlist.”

“That’s not who I am, Princess. They’ve never gotten the full story,” Percy explained. He was being purposefully vague. He needed them to ask who he was. The Council shared uneasy glances with each other. Percy didn’t know that he had said almost the exact thing Erik Stevens had said when he had first arrived in Wakanda.

“_Ungubani ngoko?_” T’Challa asked, leaning back in his throne with an eyebrow raised. 

“‘Who are you then?’” Okoye needlessly translated. Percy was now able to recognize the phrase.

“_Igama lam nguPercy Jackson, unyana kaPoseidon_,” Percy responded in Xhosa, following the Wakandan custom. T’Challa, who had been impassive, looked surprised, the rest of the Council mirroring his expression. Percy was grateful all of a sudden that Bast had made him memorize the phrase. He continued, “_Ndilapha egameni likaBast._” He had said, ‘_My name is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. I’m here in the name of Bast._’

There were cries of outrage from the Council members. T’Challa abruptly stood up and approached him. The Dora Milaje surrounded him again, their spears leveled at his chest. 

“What proof do you have?” T’Challa hissed in his ear, face stoic and untelling. 

Percy didn’t say anything, examining everyone in the throne room. This felt like as good a moment as any to share Bast’s tattoos. He smirked before raising his hands and pulling his bottom lip down. He could see the glow from the bottom of his eye. 

There was silence before the whole room erupted into noise. Percy felt a bit like an ass, standing there holding his lip, but T’Challa quickly quieted the room. Everyone was staring at him with some combination of awe, fear, and disbelief. 

“So you have some tattoos that could lead us to believe you. But you could just as easily be tricking us!” T’Challa said but he seemed to be having an internal debate. 

Frowning, he sat back down in his throne and gestured for the Dora Milaje to release Percy. There were a few protests from the Council but he silenced them with a stern look. Okoye walked forwards and took the cuffs off his wrists. When he was free, Percy gingerly rubbed his wrist, where the cuffs had dug slightly into his skin. Several members of the Tribal Council flinched minutely backward. 

“Thank you,” Percy said, trying to convey his sincerity. He smiled gratefully, hoping to gain some trust, and started to ramble. “I’m sorry for all of the theatrics but the gods don’t like making things easy. I mean, technically they aren’t supposed to meddle in mortal affairs so they send us instead because we’re half-human. It’s a little different for Bast but I’m not sure exactly how it works in that pantheon because it’s different-”

“Enough,” T’Challa cut him off. “Can you provide any proof past your tattoo?” The whole room seemed to lean both towards and away from him. 

“Right, of course. I’m going to… do that now.” The Council members were looking increasingly skeptical. His spider-sense was faintly ringing, warning him of the Dora Milaje who were ready to strike. “Just, don’t freak out.”

Percy slowly reached his hands out, making sure to be as deliberate with his movements as possible. He concentrated on his space in the Duat and his hands disappeared. 

“How?” Shuri asked in disbelief, looking curiously at where his hands used to be.

Percy gave a reassuring grin. He carefully picked up the two plants and extracted his hand from the Duat. Everyone in the room gasped at the sight of the Heart-Shaped Herb. “Bast knew that Erik Stevens destroyed the rest of them, and so she decided to give you this gift.” 

T’Challa pressed a button on his Kimoyo beads. A woman’s face appeared as a hologram above his hand. He said a few words in Xhosa and waited for the woman to respond before ending the transmission. He turned his attention back to Percy. “You say Bast gave you this gift?”

Percy nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. She approves of the actions you’ve taken since becoming King. She wanted to help you after the rest of the Herbs were burned so the mantle of Black Panther could be passed down to the next king.”

The Council was in awe of his words. They worshipped Bast, of course, but to know she was real and had been watching over them was amazing. Ramonda was watching her son with a look of pride on her face. 

Shuri, however, still looked slightly doubtful. “You said you were the son of Poseidon. Isn’t he from Greek mythology? Does that mean you’re a demigod?”

The Council focused on Percy. He noticed that some of the members looked slightly worried, which made sense if they were concerned with cuffing the son of a powerful god. He tried to appease them. “It’s complicated. While we normally keep our pantheons separate to avoid war, recent circumstances have… forced us to work together. She sent me rather than one of her… wards, for lack of a better term, to speak with you as a gesture of good faith.”

“Why you?” One of the Council members spoke up. Percy noticed that he was wearing a short fur cape with more fur around his wrists. He looked like a member of the Jabari Tribe that he had read about. When Percy didn’t immediately answer he clarified, “Why did they choose you specifically?” 

Percy opened his mouth and closed it again, trying to come up with an answer. He was saved when a woman walked into the room. She was wearing a deep blue robe with a matching head wrap. Much like the other Wakandans, when she saw the Heart-Shaped Herbs in Percy’s hand she gasped. She looked at T’Challa in disbelief, as if asking him to confirm it was real. He nodded and gestured to the plants. She approached Percy and he carefully handed her the Herbs. He felt a rush of relief once the Herbs were safely in her hands.

“Make sure they are real,” T’Challa instructed her in Xhosa. He gave a semi-apologetic smile to Percy, though he didn’t sound sorry. “We must be certain you are telling the truth. Perhaps we can postpone our discussion until tomorrow?” It wasn’t a question. “You must be tired from your journey.” 

Percy decided not to tell him that he had teleported here. He was still on New York time, where it was only noon. In Wakanda, which was seven hours ahead, the sun was starting to set. Percy simply inclined his head in agreement and followed two Dora Milaje out of the door after T’Challa instructed them to show him to a guest room. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Percy noticed Shuri follow them out. He could hear T’Challa protesting her exit but the King didn’t follow after her. The princess caught up with him, matching his pace. She waved off the Dora Milaje, who glanced at each other for a moment before stepping back and following them from a distance. Percy quirked an eyebrow at Shuri. 

“How old are you?” she asked, forgoing pleasantries. 

“Sixteen,” Percy responded. “You?”

“I’m sixteen.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You don’t seem like the serious type. More of a ‘go with the flow’ person.”

Percy snorted at her pun about his parentage. It was nice to know she wasn’t intimidated by him. He debated how to answer before deciding to tell the truth. Maybe if he was sincere, they would trust him more. “I don’t do well with authority, but even I know when to show respect. I’ve had that beaten into me by enough angry gods and monsters. Besides, it’s not like your brother doesn’t deserve it. Sometimes I wish the gods ruled like him, rather than-” _children having a temper tantrum._ He couldn’t say that out loud though.

Shuri’s eyes widened at his thinly veiled insult. Percy could hear the Doras’ sharp intake of breath from behind him. 

He had already dug himself a deep hole, he might as well throw himself into it head-first. “I do respect a lot of the gods. But after so many years of fighting for them, one thing I learned quickly is that they aren’t perfect. They make just as many mistakes as mortals, if not more.”

Shuri was staring at him in disbelief. She seemed impressed by his candor. Changing the subject, she asked, “When did you find out?”

“About the gods? Or about my dad?”

“Both.”

“I was twelve and my best friend had goat legs. He only told me he was a satyr after I had passed out,” Percy said, smiling at the way Shuri’s jaw dropped, however, she quickly regained her composure. “As for my dad, well, a glowing trident over my head was pretty obvious.”

She stopped him in front of one of the many doors that lined the hallway. They stood outside of the room for a moment. Shuri gained a mischievous glint in her eye. However, her tone was innocent when she asked, “What do you do? As the son of Poseidon?”

Percy thought about answering honestly but he decided to have a little fun. He gave her an impish grin. “I’m the sand guardian. Guardian of the sand.”

Shuri grinned at him. Percy could tell she was trying to keep herself from laughing. “Poseidon quivers before him.”

The two teens looked at each other and burst out laughing, unable to contain it any longer. Shuri smiled at him. “I think we’re going to get along great.”

Percy smirked at her. “I’ll see you in the morning, your highness.” 

Percy walked inside his room, shutting the door behind him. When he turned around, he gasped. “Woah.” The room was twice the size of his room in New York. The walls were red and textured in diamonds as well as other patterns. Wooden carved animal heads adorned parts of the walls. 

A bookshelf along the far wall was filled with small knick-knacks. A brief glance at the books showed that a majority of them were in Xhosa. The bed was in the center of the room. It had a canopy surrounding it; the gossamer material glinted gold in the setting sun. 

One of the walls had a large window overlooking the Golden City. It was breathtaking. There were dozens of tall buildings, each unique in shape. Percy could faintly make out a marketplace with people the size of ants bustling through it. The sun was setting, casting a golden hue on the buildings and people below. Percy thought that Annabeth would probably have gone crazy over the architecture.

Turning away from the window, Percy quickly pulled his bag out of the Duat. He tugged off the cloak he was wearing, leaving him in his Camp Half-Blood shirt and jeans. He rummaged around in his bag until he found a drachma. Percy went through the side door that led to the bathroom and turned on the faucet. He left the door open, the incoming sunlight created a faint rainbow. He tossed the drachma into the mist and watched as it disappeared. “_Oh, Fleecy, do me a solid and show me Nico di Angelo, Queens, New York._”

Nico was playing with a pack of cards at the kitchen table. When Percy appeared he looked up and gave a small smile. “You’re not dead.”

“Thank you for the astute observation,” Percy snarked. “Are Thalia and Hestia there?”

Nico put on a look of mock offense. “Do I mean nothing to you?”

“Yes.” 

Nico flipped him off, though he was grinning which betrayed his amusement. 

“Nico,” Hestia warned, appearing behind his shoulder. Nico jumped and ducked his head; his ears turned red with embarrassment. Thalia was also with her, and she was struggling to contain her laughter.

“Sorry, Hestia.”

Hestia offered him a reassuring smile before turning her gaze to Percy. She looked worried. “I presume everything turned out alright.”

Percy nodded. “Yeah, after I took out the Herbs they were more open to talking. T’Challa seems like a fair and just King. His sister Shuri is kind of awesome.”

Thalia raised an eyebrow at him. “‘Fair and just?’ I’ve never heard you describe someone like that. Ever.”

Percy shot her a defiant glare. “Shut up, I’m still in diplomatic mode. The Wakandans were nice but one wrong move in there and they probably would have killed me.”

“Speaking of diplomacy…” Hestia trailed off. She was staring at him expectantly. 

It was Percy’s turn to be embarrassed. He groaned and ducked his head. He could feel the heat creeping up his neck. “Come on, Hestia, do I have to? I’ll feel humiliated.”

“This alliance is very important, Percy. It will leave a better impression than anything else,” Hestia explained for the tenth time since she had first proposed the plan to him before he left. 

“But-” Percy cut himself off at Hestia’s stern look. 

“No buts, Percy. I don’t know what you’re so worried about,” Hestia reassured him, but her tone was firm. 

“Fine,” Percy conceded, dragging out the ‘i’. He gestured towards his head. “But do I have to-”

“Yes.” Hestia’s face softened. “You’ll have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. I suggest you try to get some sleep. Call again in the morning.”

Hestia swiped through the Mist before he could protest that he had been sleeping less than six hours ago. Percy let out a deep sigh and collapsed on top of the bed. He stared at the ceiling, using the rest of his senses to take in the surrounding area. He could feel the individual threads on the fabric underneath his hands. He could see the dust particles floating through the air. Outside, he could hear the heartbeat and breathing of the two Dora Milaje stationed outside his door. 

He sat up when he heard footsteps approaching the door. There was a sharp knock against the wood. Percy tensed and slowly approached the door. He wished he had Riptide with him, but he had commanded the pen to stay with Okoye. He relaxed when he smelled the strong scent of turmeric and paprika. Percy opened the door and took the food from the guard standing there. “_Enkosi_,” Percy muttered a thanks in Xhosa, not really paying attention. It had been a few hours since he had eaten and he needed to keep up his metabolism. His inattention caused him to miss the very brief look of surprise between the Dora and the guard. Percy closed the door and took the tray to the corner of the room where there was a small table. 

Percy took the cover off of the dish and found a bowl of rice with some sort of chicken curry. There was no fire for him to sacrifice a portion of his meal so he settled for saying a prayer to the gods. After he had finished his meal, he paced the room for a bit before he got agitated. 

Finding nothing better to do, Percy sat down in the center of the room and closed his eyes. He concentrated until he felt the familiar tug in his gut that signified he was using his powers. He focused on the humidity of the air in front of him and imagined the small particles of water vapor condensing until they could reform into liquid. 

A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his head but Percy ignored it. There was a build in the pull in his gut until it was released like a dam breaking. Percy opened his eyes and grinned at the small bubbles of water floating in midair. Now that he had formed it, he found it easier to add water from the surrounding air. 

Once he had a ball of water the size of his head, Percy focused on making shapes with the water until he could successfully create basic shapes with ease. Percy turned his attention to making weapons with the water. He pulled some more water from the air and divided it in two, the small blobs lengthening out into sharp blades, about six inches long each. Without thinking about it, Percy hardened the water into ice that was an opaque frosted blue. Percy’s chest lurched when he noticed that the blades looked like twin replicas of Annabeth’s dagger that she had lost in Tartarus. 

Percy turned the blades back into water, his thoughts still clouded with images of Annabeth and Tartarus. He tried to focus on the next weapon, this time a trident that was only slightly shorter than Percy. However, when the water hardened into ice, it was a much darker blue, almost black with streaks of the lighter blue intertwined in it, though they were few and far in between. Percy stared at it and his concentration broke, causing the trident to fall to the ground. 

Percy caught it at the last second, his hand reaching out automatically. He hissed as a burning sensation filled his right arm. The pain intensified and Percy collapsed to the ground, gritting his teeth through the pain. His hand was burning like it was on fire and his forearm felt like the skin was being peeled off.

When the pain finally subsided, Percy opened his eyes (though he couldn’t remember closing them) the trident was gone and his arm was glowing. The trident on his legionnaire tattoo had changed, adjusting to the color of the trident he had made. “_You have got to be kidding me?_” he thought. Percy held his hand out and the trident on his arm flared before reappearing in his hand, fully formed and made of ice. There was no pain this time.

Percy sighed. He glared at the ceiling. “Thanks a lot for the new weapon, Dad? Could you make it more painful next time?” He glanced down at the weapon. “Now, how do I make you go away?”

It took him a painfully long time to figure out how to _put the trident back in his arm._ What even was his life that that was a normal sentence for him to think? First, he tried lightly tapping the ground with it. That did nothing except it sent a small shockwave that rattled the things in the room. It seemed to be confined to the room because the Dora didn’t come charging in with spears ready to kill him. After multiple attempts to get rid of the trident, including trying to actually shove it into his arm, Percy dropped it in frustration. 

He stared at the trident as it disappeared before it could hit the ground. There was a brief glow from his arm. Percy walked over to the bed and collapsed in it. “Of course it was that easy, and of course I couldn’t figure it out,” he grumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow. 

Since he was lying down, the adrenaline quickly left his system until he was left feeling exhausted. His arm was still throbbing and he had used a lot of power. It wasn’t long until Percy felt his eyes slid shut and he drifted off. 

***

_“You must be careful, Perseus Jackson.”_

Percy turned over on his side, his forehead scrunched in pain.

_“War is approaching.”_

Percy grabbed the sheets and pulled at them, his fist clutching tightly onto the cloth.

_“Only you can fix it.”_

There was a sheen of sweat covering Percy’s body, beads of it rolling down his temples and into his hairline.

_“The universe must die to be reborn.”_

Percy’s back arched as an invisible force pulled his body up and slammed it back down onto the bed.

_“Free me, Perseus Jackson.”_

Percy gasped as his eyes flew open and turned pitch black, the color spreading from his pupil until it covered his irises and sclera. The black moved past his eyes, small veins branching out across his face.

** _“Free me!”_ **

***

Percy woke up with a gasp. His head was pounding and there was a tightness around his eyes. He wiped the drool off of his mouth and stumbled to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. He sighed in relief as the water rejuvenated him. He glanced at the mirror and grimaced at the somewhat dark circles under his eyes, though he looked fine otherwise.

He was covered in sweat, enough that his hair had been matted down by it. Percy sighed and stripped down, stepping into the shower. The hot water poured over him, easing the tense muscles in his back. He tried to recall the dream he had but found his memory blank. Normally, whenever he had a dream that left him that rattled, he could remember it in stark detail because it was a nightmare or memory. He couldn’t remember anything about the dream he had last night, making him think that he must have had a normal dream for once. 

Percy shoved thoughts about the dream to the back of his mind. He would worry about it later. Percy got out of the shower and stepped into the room, getting ready as quickly as possible. The Duat really was one of the more helpful things to come from the world of gods and monsters. When he was done, he dragged himself back into the bathroom to see how he looked. 

Percy was wearing a dark blue chiton that came down to his knees with sleeves that went three-quarters of the way down his arm, exposing his forearms and consequently, his tattoos. He had a lighter blue chlamys draped around his neck, covering his left arm. It was held in place by a golden brooch that had a trident engraved on it. He had a golden laurel wrapped around his head but his hair was covering half of it. He was wearing gladiator-style sandals made of brown leather that wrapped around his ankle. He groaned and placed his head in his hands. He couldn't believe Hestia was making him wear something so horrible.

“You look spectacular,” Hestia complimented from behind him. Percy jumped and whipped around to face the goddess. There was an Iris Message floating behind him, showing Hestia and his cousins in the living room of their apartment. Thalia and Nico were both stifling laughter.

Thalia cleared her throat and tried to keep a blank face. “Yes, you look… very majestic.”

“Like royalty,” Nico chimed in. He and Thalia glanced at each and started to snicker at Percy’s expense.

“Oh, haha, you’re both hilarious. I’m dying of laughter,” Percy deadpanned.

Hestia shushed the two but she had a smile on her face. She took a closer look at him and her expression turned worried. “Did you sleep last night?”

“Yeah, but I used a lot of energy last night.” Percy decided to not tell her about the dream. He couldn’t remember it so there was no reason for her to worry. Hestia gazed at him expectantly; Percy decided to just show them rather than explain. He held his arm out and watched as the trident materialized in his hand. 

Thalia whistled. “Impressive.”

Hestia furrowed her brows. “I’m a bit concerned about the black in the ice. Did you try to make anything else?”

Percy thought about the twin daggers he had made and his eyes darkened. “No, I only made the trident. As soon as I picked it up, my arm started to rip itself apart. Not literally, but that’s what it felt like. It doesn’t hurt now though. I’m thinking it was just the initial reaction of the trident linking itself to the tattoo on my arm.”

Hestia looked skeptical but let the matter drop. “Let me know if it starts to hurt again. That’s a very outstanding use of your powers, though. If you are left without a weapon, you automatically have one to use.”

Percy grinned and showed her his new ability to pull water from the surrounding air. Hestia smiled and praised him. They continued to talk, about Wakanda and what he was going to do once he got back until there was a knock at the door. Percy said goodbye and slashed through the mist. 

He walked to the door and opened it to reveal Shuri standing there with her hand raised like she was about to knock again. She raised an eyebrow and took in his appearance. “What’s up with the formal wear, fish boy?”

Percy shrugged helplessly, smiling at her quip. “My guardian is a goddess and she wanted me to wear this. I try not to argue with her.”

Shuri looked at him curiously. “What about your mother?”

Percy pursed his lips. “I love my mom, but she’s just a mortal. She deserves to live a normal life. I decided to leave once my little sister was born. Hestia volunteered to watch over us in the mortal world.”

Shuri opened her mouth to ask another question but they had made it to the dining room. Like every other room in the palace, it was grand without being ostentatious. After Percy murmured a greeting to T’Challa and Ramonda he took a seat next to Shuri. T’Challa was at the head of the table while Ramonda was sitting on his right. There was already food waiting for them and Shuri started to eat immediately. 

Percy lifted his fork up but his enhanced hearing could hear the faint sound of thunder in the sky. He figured that he wouldn’t be able to get away with not sacrificing part of his meal for more than one night. He regretfully put the fork down and turned to T’Challa, his ears tinged red from embarrassment. “Excuse me, Your Majesty but is there any way that I could burn a portion of my meal before I eat it?”

T’Challa looked puzzled by the request but gestured for once to be brought anyway. A few minutes later a brazier was brought in and set at the end of the table. Percy got up and dumped a portion of the food into the flames, whispering a prayer to Hestia. He would have prayed to his dad, but he was still upset about the lack of warning regarding his trident. 

A burst of warmth filled him like Hestia was hugging him, reassuring that she was still there. Percy sat back down and started to eat. Shuri had regained her curiosity and asked, “How does the food not smell bad when it burns?”

Percy shrugged. “I’m not sure. I wondered the same thing when I first did it.”

The rest of breakfast passed in relative silence. Once they had all finished, Percy was led back into the throne room. This time, there were more seats placed down. Percy waited for everyone to sit down before he took the last remaining seat. The Council was positioned to face him, causing Percy’s heart to beat in his chest as he stared at them. 

The woman in the blue robe from the day before walked in, though her robe was green this time. “The Herb is real. We can now pass on the power of the Black Panther to the next King. Thank you,” she announced, directing the last part to Percy.

Percy nodded his head while there were sighs of relief from the Council. T’Challa gestured to Percy, “Now that we have determined that you are telling the truth, perhaps you could explain and answer our questions.”

Percy took a deep breath. “It all started when I went on a field trip with my class to the museum…”

***

By the time Percy was done summarizing, with the Council interjecting every two minutes with a question, lunch had come and gone. Even Okoye looked impressed at the end of it. 

“This prophecy you speak of, what are the exact words?” One of the Council members, Percy had learned his name was M’Baku, asked.

_“A demigod with ties to all the gods,_  
_Shall be their champion and face the odds,_  
_The four pantheons united under one foe,_  
_Together their strength will only grow,_  
_In two years time, the Mad Titan will rise,_  
_With his search for the stones comes half the universe's demise,_  
_An ally long forgotten shall live again,_  
_And with them heralds the Dark Lord's end.”_

“How are you currently tracking the stones?” Shuri asked.

“With the help of the Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Steven Strange,” Percy said. “He has some sort of magic ritual that allows us to keep track of the stones that are currently on Earth. Thor is out searching for the rest of the stones while the tesseract is being held on Asgard.”

“If I could examine the time stone, I could track the other stones by searching for the same type of radiation. I would need to build a sensor that could scan into deep space,” Shuri contemplated, turning to look at her brother expectantly.

T’Challa had a thoughtful look on his face. Percy tried to keep the hopeful expression off his face.

“Wakanda will gladly help the four pantheons,” T’Challa declared. None of the council disagreed with him. Percy let out a near silent exhale of relief. He couldn’t imagine T’Challa saying no but he was still worried.

“I’m glad to hear that, Your Majesty.”

***

Percy stood outside the palace with the Dora Milaje and the Royal family. The sun was setting in the distance, once again casting a golden glow on everything. To his surprise, Okoye approached him. 

“I have your pen,” Okoye informed him, handing him Riptide. “Though, I’m not sure what good it does.”

Percy grinned at her and pocketed the pen. “Thank you. It’s actually my sword.”

“Your what?” Shuri asked, joining the conversation.

“My sword, Riptide. It was a gift from my mentor when I first discovered I was a demigod.”

Shuri gazed closer at the pen as if it would turn into a sword any minute. “There is no possible way that it can turn into a sword. That defies the laws of physics!”

Percy chuckled. “I can show you next time.”

“Yes, maybe we can spar next you are here as well. I would love to see how vibranium does against your weapon,” Okoye offered with a small smile. Percy grinned at her before turning to T’Challa.

“Thank you for having me, Your Majesty. I look forward to working with you in the future,” Percy said sincerely, grasping T’Challa’s hand. 

“You can call me T’Challa,” he said kindly.

Percy nodded. He repeated, “T’Challa.” He knew he should probably have asked for a ride, but it was too little too late. “Just a warning, don’t shoot.” 

Percy turned and let out a sharp whistle. After a moment passed, one of the shadows from a nearby overhang warped and Mrs. O’Leary jumped out and barreled into Percy. The Dora Milaje had their weapons raised and ready to strike but none of them had actually made a move to attack. Percy rubbed her head and then mounted, clutching onto the back of her giant collar. 

“Get yo’ fucking dog bitch!” Shuri yelled but her laughter ruined it. 

Percy played along. In a monotone voice, he said, “It don’t bite.” 

“Yes it do!” They laughed in unison. The rest of the Wakandans were staring at them like they were crazy.

“But seriously, are you sure that’s safe?” Shuri asked, eyeing the giant hellhound with guarded apprehension. The Wakandans had startled pretty badly when she had appeared, but his warning had actually helped. 

“Perfectly safe,” Percy reassured her. “Mrs. O’Leary is a giant teddy bear.”

He offered the gathered Wakandans one last smile before he gently patted Mrs. O’Leary on the head to urge her forward. Mrs. O’Leary bounded into the nearest shadow and Percy’s entire world went dark, the light from Wakanda’s sunset fading out behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter is published, I'm literally screaming. Who predicted correctly after the epilogue?
> 
> From now on, if it says Peter then you can assume that he looks like Peter Parker and if it says Percy then assume he looks like Percy Jackson. I figured it would just be easier for everyone.
> 
> Who can spot the reference in the first paragraph? I took inspiration for Percy's outfit in Wakanda from juliajm15 on DeviantArt titled 'Ancient Greece' so all rights go to her on that. If you didn't know, the PJO timeline has been thrown out the window so nothing is accurate. It pulled a Jeremy Bearimy and now the timeline no longer exists as a concept we can understand.
> 
> What's going on with Percy? That dream was pretty crazy. Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sophomore Year: Second Semester**

“Percy!” 

Percy turned around and saw Piper running up to him. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. “Hey, the rest of the Seven, Will, Nico, Thalia, and Reyna were going to have a picnic in New Rome. Want to join us?”

“Yeah, of course. I just got to give Clarisse the report on how the new campers did with training,” Percy said, smiling. 

“Cool, meet us at the portal in twenty,” Piper told him and ran off. 

Percy smiled after her and continued towards armory where he knew Clarisse was checking weapons. He thought back to the day he had finally returned to Camp Half-Blood. There was a lot of cheering in the beginning and then later there was crying and screaming with his closest friends. Clarisse, in particular, had yelled at him for ten minutes. She would have yelled longer but her voice had run hoarse and Chris had forced her to stop. Percy had been expecting it and took their anger without saying a word. They had every reason to be mad at him. 

He did it again with the Romans the next day. If anything, they were worse. Reyna had given him the silent treatment for a couple of days before she snapped and shouted at him. Hazel cried and pounded on his chest but she had forgiven him pretty easily. Within a week, everyone else had too. Percy had wondered how he had such amazing friends who forgave him for failing when he had barely forgiven himself. 

It was better now though. He had made a mistake staying away from Camp. Coming back helped him heal and move on. It still hurt sometimes, but now when he passed by places that reminded him of Annabeth he would smile and reminiscence rather than look away. He tried to visit Camp at least once a month with his cousins and had a lot of fun training the younger campers and hanging out with his friends.

Once Percy made it to the armory, he quickly told Clarisse how the Hermes kids had done during their training session that day. They made plans to spar later before he ducked out of the armory and made his way over to the Big House.

Camp had changed quite a bit while he was gone. Jason had decided to be the liaison between the Greeks and the Romans. He had managed to construct a portal between the camps with the help of the Hephaestus and Hecate kids.

Thinking about Jason brought a smile to Percy’s face. He would be the first to admit that he didn’t like Jason when they first met. However, they had gotten closer during their time on the Argo II. Percy understood now that Jason had a big heart and he just wanted what was best for everyone. 

Not to say Jason wasn’t dumb. He had tried to eat a staple and for some reason, he was very possessive of a random brick that he kept next to his bedside table. He also wore glasses because he was a nerd, but Percy wasn’t one to judge. After Athena blessed him, he dove head-first into chemistry and science. Percy shook his head as he lost his train of thought. 

Percy crested the hill and saw his friends standing by the portal to Camp Jupiter. He frowned slightly when he saw Piper standing near Jason. That was the change that shocked him the most when he came back. But even more shocking was the strange flash of relief he had felt when he heard. 

Leo was standing near the two of them as well. When Percy found out his friend was alive he had hugged Leo until the other boy begged for air. Percy was secretly glad that Leo was alone. When he had seen Calypso, he had felt irrationally angry, memories of Annabeth being cursed in Tartarus surfacing. He avoided her at all costs, though she kept trying to talk. 

Percy watched as Piper and Leo entered the portal, leaving Jason waiting by himself. He met Jason’s eyes and the son of Jupiter beamed. “Percy!”

Percy jogged up to Jason. “Where’s the rest of the Scooby Gang, Fred?”

“Everyone else is waiting for us on the other side. Nico said something about you ‘taking more time than Apollo getting ready to raise the sun?’ And if I’m Fred, does that make you Scooby?” Jason teased, his eyes glinting playfully.

Percy gasped in mock outrage. “How dare he? And if anything, I’m Daphne, thank you very much.”

Jason blushed and he looked away bashfully, though Percy didn’t understand why. After a moment he looked up again, red tingeing his cheeks. “Aw, do you need someone to defend your honor from the big, scary son of Hades?”

Percy grinned and decided to play along. He leaned dramatically against Jason’s shoulder. Percy wasn’t expecting him to be so warm. He could feel the corded muscle through Jason’s shirt. Percy swallowed dryly. He looked up at Jason and batted his eyelashes. “Oh yes, will you please save me, my knight in shining armor?”

Jason didn’t say anything for a minute before he snorted and shoved Percy off him gently. “Come on, dumbass. We don’t want Reyna to come over here and drag us through the portal.”

Percy stumbled but followed Jason through the portal. It felt weird like his entire body was covered in pins and needles. When he emerged on the other side, he was standing on the outskirts of the Field of Mars. 

The rest of the Seven, Nico, Will, Reyna, and Thalia were already waiting as Piper had said. Hazel, Frank, and Will were carrying picnic baskets. Percy greeted all of them quickly and they began walking towards New Rome. They quickly reached the Pomerian Line, with Terminus waiting expectantly.

The group dutifully took out their weapons. Percy watched in amazement as both Thalia and Reyna took at least ten different weapons out of various pockets. Percy approached Terminus and placed his pen on the pedestal next to the god. He started to walk forward when he hit solid air. His hands flew to his now throbbing nose where it had hit the invisible barrier.

“You still have a weapon on you,” Terminus chided. One of his eyebrows was raised and Percy imagined that one of his hands would have been held out expectantly if he had arms. The rest of the group had stopped to wait for him.

Percy sighed when he remembered the trident. “Sorry, Terminus, I forgot.” He held his arm out and the trident materialized in his hand. He laid it on the pedestal and hesitantly walked forward. When he didn’t hit the barrier he increased his pace. 

“I didn’t know you had a trident,” Reyna commented. “Can you use it?”

“I’ve done some training but I just got it recently,” Percy responded.

“It looks wicked though. What’s it made of?” Leo asked curiously.

“I made it out of water, but it’s a strange color for some reason,” Percy admitted sheepishly. 

Leo whistled. “Can I take a look at it later? I’d love to see how it works.”

Percy nodded and let the chattering of his friends fall into the background. The group trudged up one of the many hills overlooking New Rome until they found a spot to lay out the blankets. Hazel, Frank, and Will started to unpack food and drinks from the baskets and laid them at the edge of the blanket. 

Percy took a seat on one of the blankets in between Hazel and Frank. Once the food was distributed, Nico and Thalia decided to tell the unedited, full-length version of everything that had happened to them. Once Percy demonstrated his powers, Leo started to throw things at him and his hand would immediately fly up to catch it. 

Leo cackled. “That’s the funniest shit I’ve ever seen. Kinda reminds me of that Spider-Dude that’s been seen around New York.”

“Uh yeah, for sure, I bet he’s a real stand-up guy.” Percy stuttered out, eyes darting around. His friends were frowning at him and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thalia and Nico exchange some money. It only took another second before a look of understanding dawned in his friends’ eyes. 

“You’re Spider-Man?” Piper asked, eyebrows arched. Percy groaned, covering his face with his hands. He thought he had been convincing but his distress seemed to be enough of an answer for his friends.

Leo, Hazel, and Will bust out laughing as Piper, Reyna, and Jason just smiled at him. “What’s up with the spandex?” Frank teased. 

Percy let out another groan. “You guys are the worst,” he grumbled, his voice muffled by his hands.

“Do you know the Avengers?” Jason asked.

Percy finally looked up and gave Jason a small smile. “Not really. Mr. Stark is the only one I’ve really talked to.”

Leo gasped. “You know Tony Stark? Dude, you know he’s like my great-grandnephew?”

“What?” Percy looked at Leo incredulously. 

“He means that Tony Stark is the son of Howard Stark who was of a legacy of Vulcan,” Reyna clarified.

“Really? Do you think he knows?” Percy imagined what it would be like if Tony knew about the gods. He would probably figure out a way to incorporate Celestial Bronze or Imperial Gold into his suits to fight monsters.

“Most likely not,” Reyna reassured. 

“His scent would have been so faint that there would be no reason for his parents to tell him,” Thalia theorized. 

“What else can you do?” Will asked and smiled at him. But Percy glared back because there was no way that Nico hadn’t already told Will everything, which meant he was just trying to be an ass and embarrass him. Percy decided they deserve each other. 

“One time, he was so agitated because of this idiot at our school that he literally climbed up the wall while he was ranting. He didn’t notice that he had started pacing on the ceiling until we told him,” Thalia answered for him, smirking.

“Thalia!” Percy whined as the rest of the group burst into laughter. 

Once it had died down, Nico took the opportunity to speak. “He also looks like a giant nerd.”

“What do you mean?” Hazel tilted her head, confused.

Nico gestured to Percy expectantly. Percy sighed but closed his eyes to concentrate. He focused on how being Peter Parker made him feel. It felt like it was two sides of the same coin. Each side had different aspects of his personality that became more dominant when he was one or the other. He focused on his love for chemistry and engineering. Hanging out with Tony as they worked on the Spider-Suit or having Ned help him patrol. 

When he opened his eyes, all his friends were staring at him. His clothes had become too big for him and hung loosely off his body. Jason was gaping at him, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. Peter wanted to push them back up his face. 

Jason shook his head and looked away from him, but Peter didn’t miss the blush that was blooming across his cheeks. Leo was the first one to recover.

“Perce, I want you to know that when I say this, it’s from the bottom of my heart. What,” he paused for dramatic effect, “the shit?”

“It’s amazing how you can still look exactly like a puppy,” Reyna said, breaking the tension. Frank was still gaping at him and Piper just looked impressed. Peter wondered what Jason thought. 

“Do you still have your tattoos?” Hazel wondered. 

Peter nodded and showed his forearm, where the legionnaire tattoo was still on full display. “Yeah, it’s led to a lot of sweaters and hoodies.”

“Adding to the whole dork look that he has going on,” Thalia interjected gleefully. Peter glared and punched her in the shoulder.

“Dude, you’re like, as short as me,” Leo exclaimed. He made Peter stand up so he could compare their heights and cackled when he saw that he was just taller than him.

“Why do you need it anyway?” Frank asked curiously. 

Peter winced internally. He didn’t want to dampen the mood by sharing his insecurities about being a failure as Percy Jackson. He decided to go with the safer answer. “The government sort of thinks I’m a criminal because I’ve accidentally blown a lot of things up while monsters chased me.” He focused again and Percy could feel himself getting taller as he filled in his clothes. 

“Only you, Percy.” Piper laughed.

“If the government thinks you’re a criminal, does that mean you have a new name too?” Jason asked, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

“Uh, yeah.” Percy didn’t know why he was so embarrassed to share his name with his friends. “It’s Peter Parker. It’s fun, you know, being someone else. And before you ask, no I didn’t pick, the gods did. In fact, I’m pretty sure it was Dionysus who chose it specifically to annoy me. I don’t know if I would have picked something so alliterative, but it’s grown on me.”

“It’s cute,” Jason commented. The others went quiet except for Leo and Hazel’s stifled giggling. 

“What? Is there something on my face?” Jason finally asked. 

“Uh, no. It’s nothing,” Percy finally said, taking pity on Jason. His heart was doing something funny in his chest and he could hear the blood roaring in his ears. 

The conversation broke off from there. Hazel and Frank started a conversation with Leo and Piper while Reyna started to talk to Thalia. Nico and Will were in deep conversation, their heads bent close together. Percy got up and walked towards Jason who had sat down on the edge of the hill, looking out at New Rome. He could feel at least one pair of eyes following him. 

The two were silent for a few minutes. Percy was desperately trying to figure out what to say. His brain couldn’t seem to formulate the words necessary to have a conversation. He decided to settle on a safe topic. 

“So-”

“Listen-”

Percy and Jason both cut off abruptly. Percy smiled softly. “You first.”

Jason took a deep breath. “I just, I wanted to say that I understood.”

“Understood?” Percy repeated, confusion evident on his face.

“When you left, after the war. I understood. I wasn’t angry,” Jason clarified.

“Oh.” 

“I mean, I was a little hurt when you didn’t say goodbye, but I got it. If it had been Thalia or even Piper…” Jason trailed off. 

“I wanted to stay. I knew that I was being selfish. I knew that Camp needed me,” Percy explained. “But I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to help anyone here. If I had stayed I would have been stuck in the past, depressed and always wondering what I could have done or haunted by the memories of Annabeth.” Percy chuckled darkly. “I couldn’t even _think_ her name two months ago, much less say it.” 

He took a deep breath and let his eyes roam over the city below. New Rome was glowing under the light of the setting sun. The Coliseum stood tall above the rest of the city. Percy could make out a few people going home for the night and he couldn’t stop himself from feeling envious.

A warm hand covered his own shook him out of his daze. Percy looked down at Jason’s hand. It felt like static jumping across his skin where their hands touched. Percy looked up at Jason. His mouth was slightly parted and there was a glint of something in his eyes. 

A moment of understanding passed between them in the silence and their friends chattering faded to the background. The sun framed Jason’s broad silhouette, making a halo light up his hair. He looked every bit the son of Jupiter. 

It had always been different with Jason, they understood each other better than most people could, the similar burden of responsibility and being children of the Big Three weighing on them. 

“_Woah_,” Percy thought. Maybe all the tension from when they first met had been something else. Something he couldn’t name right now and didn’t really want to. He was just going to enjoy the sort of calm he hadn’t felt in months. It was like after months of being on edge and choking on his grief, he could breathe a little bit. Jason turned back to New Rome, but his hand stayed where it was. 

“I’m happy you left,” he admitted, glancing back at him, making Percy felt warm under the scrutiny. “You look better, Perce. More at peace, if that makes sense.” Jason leaned closer as if admitting a secret. “Sometimes, I wish that I could leave. But Camp is all I’ve ever known. I don’t know what I would do if I left.”

“You could come visit, you know, in the meantime.” Percy’s mouth blurted before his brain had time to think of the consequences. His cheeks were two steps ahead of warm and more reminiscent of being on fire. _What was wrong with him?_ “You could come visit me. In Queens.”

“You think?” Jason bit on his bottom lip and for the same mysterious reason he wasn’t naming, Percy’s brain shorted out for a couple of seconds. The pause was a little too long but Jason was still smiling at him so he couldn’t be that awkward. 

“Yeah,” Percy confirmed. “We could get lunch. I know this great sandwich place. I could show you some sights. I don’t think you’ve ever had time to see New York properly.”

Jason smiled softly and rubbed the back of his neck. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose where they had slipped down. Percy’s stomach did a funny flip and his heart stuttered at the action. _Was he dying? No, he sort of, not really, knew what was happening._ “I’d like that. It’s a date.”

Percy almost didn’t hear Jason, he was so caught up in his thoughts. Once his brain processed what the son of Jupiter had said, Percy’s eyes widened a little and he turned his head to look at him. Even though Jason was staring ahead, Percy could make out the blush still present along his neck and at the tips of his ears. He took Jason’s cue and turned to look at the city too. 

“Yeah,” Percy finally murmured, “a date.”

The silence was broken by Frank calling them back over, seemingly unaware of the delicate moment. They had both startled at the sudden interruption, but Jason didn’t seem that hurried. Percy jerked his thumb back towards the rest of their friends. “I better go see what Frank wants. I- gotta go. Bye.” He took five steps away from Jason before turning back and smiling. “I’ll text you.”

Percy made his way to where Frank was sitting, not looking back to where he had left Jason sitting, smiling softly.

“Looked like you could use a rescue,” Frank whispered. Percy was suddenly grateful for the sometimes quiet son of Mars and his well-timed observations. He smiled at him before turning to talk to Reyna. 

Percy wouldn’t admit it but he avoided Jason for the rest of the picnic, refusing to make eye contact. He made sure that one of their other friends was next to him at all times, preventing Jason from saying anything. He tried to keep a cool facade but the panic had finally caught up. He had just agreed to a date! _With Jason Grace!_

Soon enough, the sun had set, leaving the hill bathed in moonlight. Reyna put an end to the picnic, citing an early morning Senate meeting that she and Frank had the next day. 

While Hazel, Frank, Reyna, and Jason headed back to the barracks, Percy followed Nico, Will, Thalia, Piper, and Leo to the portal. 

Once they had made it through, the group quickly dispersed before the harpies could catch them. Because of the time difference, curfew had already passed. Before Nico and Will could retreat to the Hades Cabin, Percy grabbed each of them by the arm and dragged them to his cabin. Neither could protest without the risk of alerting the harpies but Nico glared at Percy until he had shut the door and they were safely inside.

“What the-”

“How did you know?” Percy asked frantically. He used his enhanced strength to push Nico and Will onto one of the empty bunks. Nico looked affronted while Will just shrugged and stretched across the bed, his head in Nico’s lap. Nico took a second to look down at his boyfriend with a small smile before turning his attention back to Percy. 

“Know what?”

“How did you know that you liked me? Or that you liked Will?” Percy’s arms were flailing and he was pacing back and forth. “I mean did you just look at me and _know?_”

Nico stared at Percy with a blank face. “You’re asking me… how I knew I was gay?”

“_Yes_. I mean no. I don’t know.” Percy deflated, his shoulders sagging as he stopped pacing to look helplessly at Nico. “It’s just, I was talking with Jason-”

“Yes, I know. You looked extremely uncomfortable, I was enjoying it till the elephant decided to intervene.” Nico interjected.

“Thanks,” Percy said sarcastically. “We were talking and then I turned to look at him and the sun was behind him and he looked like an angel with his stupid hair and stupid giant shoulders and stupid lip scar and then next thing I know we’re going on a date!”

“You asked him on a date?” Nico repeated, his voice and expression completely monotone. Will hummed in understanding. He also could have been snoring, Percy wasn’t sure but either way the potential sympathy was appreciated.

“Yeah,” Percy paused for a second. “I’ve always thought he was cool, especially after we got over the whole initial strangle and fight each other to the death in a random wheatfield in Kansas thing. But I didn’t think that I liked him like _that!_”

Nico continued to stare at him in silence, simply raising an eyebrow.

Percy decided to ignore his cousin and started to pace again. “But like, all of a sudden I see him and my heart does this weird thing and for a second I was like, _‘What is this? Why am I feeling something?’_ He’s just got this face and every time he talks or looks at me or breathes, I’m impressed or something in his face is impressive. Also, I want to maybe like, touch his shoulders or mash our faces together.” Percy let out a frustrated noise and paused his pacing. 

Will had sat up to look at Percy more intently. He was nodding along with Percy like he understood exactly what he was going through. Which, admittedly, he probably did. Nico continued to be unhelpful, still watching Percy as he had a breakdown.

“Now, I’m going on this date and you know how bad those have turned out for me. Liz’s dad was _literally_ a supervillain,” Percy lamented. 

“Stop,” Nico finally said, holding his hand out. Percy breathed a sigh of relief from being stopped before he could have a full-on panic attack. He sank onto the floor and stared expectantly at Nico. Nico let out an exasperated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s obvious you like each other based on the amount of blushing that I saw and how you won’t _shut up_ about him.”

“I think it’s cute,” Will commented. 

Nico ignored him and continued to speak. “So, you are going to go on this date. You are going to have a good time. And you are going to let yourself be happy for once, Percy or so help me gods.”

Percy opened his mouth to protest but Nico cut him off. “Nope, you don’t get to protest.” A smirk made its way across his face. Percy was terrified of what it meant. He guessed that Nico must have seen his fear because his smirk grew wider. “You know, I’m going to need at _least_ a two-hour notice.”

“A two-hour notice for what?” Percy asked, confused. He knew it was probably a trap but he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“A two-hour notice if you’re going to bring Jason back to the apartment. You know, to smush.” Nico’s eyes were glinting mischievously. Percy's eyes widened in disbelief.

“I can make you a smushing playlist,” Will added in, beaming innocently.

“Smush! Smushing what?!” 

Nico sighed again and looked to Will for help. Will shrugged but he smiled like they shared a secret Percy definitely did not know. “You’re the one who brought it up.”

“This is going to be a long night.”

***

After a mortifying conversion, Percy finally pushed Nico and Will out of his cabin at one in the morning. He flopped onto his bed and buried his head in the pillow to desperately try and forget the last half hour. Once his heart stopped beating in his ears, Percy sat up on the bed and pulled out his phone. He typed out a quick message to Jason, _“How does next Friday at 3 sound?”_

The three dots immediately showed up on his screen, making Percy feel somehow both anxious and relieved as he waited for the reply. He breathed a sigh of relief when it finally popped up. _“Sounds good. See you then <3” _

Percy laid in the dark for a while, thinking about a dumb little emoticon heart, and how much it represented everything that had changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This literally has to one of my favorite chapters simply for the Gay Panic™ that Percy has and Nico’s complete apathy to the situation. Percy's finally moving on and he deserves it. I'm really proud of the way I wrote their interactions. All of the positive feedback I've been getting so far for this book and the last is absolutely amazing and I love you all.  
This has nothing to do with the book but I got to see Dear Evan Hansen and I'm still screaming it was so good.  
Let me know what you think :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Sophomore Year: Second Semester**

“What do got for me, Ned?” Peter asked as he swung between buildings.

“Police scanners picked a car crash at the corner of 4th and 38th street,” Ned informed him after a short pause. “And may I just say again how honored I am that you let me help you during your patrol today.”

Peter chuckled. “Ned, dude, you’re my best friend, of course you can help.” After a moment he added, “Spider-Man is nothing without his guy in the chair.” He was trying to be as upbeat as normal and it seemed to be working. 

Ned squealed. “You called me your guy in the chair.”

Peter hummed an affirmative but went quiet as he approached the site of the car crash. One of the cars was overturned, the back end smashed beyond recognition. Smoke poured out of the engine and Peter could make out flames coming from under the hood. There was another car that was bent around a pole. A man had staggered out of that car and was sitting down on the sidewalk, clutching his head.

Peter ran to the overturned car and gently pried the door off of the driver’s side. There was an unconscious woman with blood dripping from somewhere on her head.

“Hey guy in the chair, remember that one time in Health class we had to learn CPR and a bunch of other things about helping injured people?” Peter asked. 

“Uh, yes but the one thing I remembered was that you should not touch someone who may have a neck or back injury, cause it could mess them up real bad. Is there someone injured? How does the crash look?” Ned kept asking questions but Peter let it fade to the background as he surveyed the scene.

He was hesitant to move the woman but he didn’t even hear any sirens coming. The smoke from under the hood intensified and suddenly his Spidey-Sense went off. 

He decided to make an executive decision and remove the woman from the car, supporting her neck and head. There hadn’t been anyone else in the car, thankfully, because the engine chose that second to explode. Fire engulfed the body of the car and the smell of burning rubber and gasoline filled the air. Peter wrinkled his nose. “Karen, start filtering air.”

“Of course, Peter,” Karen’s voice rang out. Peter took a deep breath as the gas mask in his suit filtered out the bad smells and he could concentrate again.

“Dude, I will never stop being in awe of Karen. Is the person okay?” Ned said. 

“I’m not sure, I had to move her out of an overturned car that just exploded by the way,” Peter replied, folding up the woman’s ripped jacket to support her head. He could hear Ned going off about explosions in action movies but he let it fade again, letting out the occasional hum.

Peter waited until the paramedics arrived before he left the scene. He made sure to let one of them know the woman was in the overturned car before making his way to the nearest rooftop and watching as the drivers were lifted into their ambulances. 

Peter shot a web at the closest building and took off again. “Okay, Ned what else is happening?”

***

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong now?” Ned asked suddenly.

Peter had to stop himself from crashing into a building at the abrupt question. He climbed onto the nearest rooftop so he could hear his friend clearly. “What are you talking about?”

“Peter, you’ve been patrolling for the past two hours and haven’t responded to half of my references. Something is obviously wrong,” Ned pointed out.

“Nothing’s wrong, Ned,” Peter reassured his friend, you know, like a liar.

“Right,” Ned responded, dragging out the ‘i’. “C’mon, Peter, I’m your best friend. Your guy in the chair. You can trust me.”

Peter grimaced. Ned was an incredible friend, but was just a mortal and didn’t know anything about Percy. He sighed. Even if he couldn’t tell Ned the whole truth, he could still confide in him. “Okay, so you know how I transferred a couple of weeks into the school year?”

“Yes,” Ned exclaimed softly. Peter assumed that he wasn’t supposed to hear his friend’s excitement. Ned cleared his throat. “Yeah, I remember. Everyone was talking about it because we don’t normally get transfers.”

“Right, so before that I was on a trip to Europe with a group of friends. The majority of us go to different schools so we recently met up and had a picnic.” Peter took a deep breath to calm down. This was his first time really coming out to one of his friends. “Well, my friend Jason and I were talking and then I asked him out.”

“I didn’t know that you…” Ned trailed off awkwardly. 

“Yeah, neither did I,” Peter interjected with a forced chuckle. “I completely panicked about it afterward.”

“What did he say?” Ned asked, moving on. Percy let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t know why he was so worried about Ned’s reaction. His friend didn’t have a hateful bone in his body. 

“Well, it was kind of like I proposed the date but not as a date, and then he was the one who confirmed it was a date,” Peter tried to explain. Ned hummed in understanding so Peter thought he got the point across.

“Okay, so if he said yes, then what’s the problem?” Ned wondered.

“The problem,” Peter cried and raised his voice, “is that we’ve had to reschedule three times! It’s been two months, Ned. Two months! Once was after I had been stabbed, then he had like a club meeting come up that he couldn’t miss, and then the last time Mr. Stark had asked me to come over and I couldn’t say no because I couldn’t tell him I had a date with a guy!” Peter finally paused for a breath. 

When Ned didn’t respond, he continued. “But I could talk to Jason and it was terrible and he sounded so disappointed, like think kicked puppy with big shoulders and pretty eyes and I’m starting to think I’m cursed.” Peter felt a little concerned about the radio silence but then Ned cleared his throat. 

“Well, first of all, being stabbed is a legitimate excuse. And I don’t think you should worry about Mr. Stark, he’s literally the OG Disaster Bi, which I realize now that I am making an assumption about you, but I’m guessing with Liz and this Jason, that you are swinging for both teams. So, just call this dude back and tell him exactly what you told me. Boom, problem solved.” Ned finally responded, also in one breath. 

Peter groaned and flopped onto his back. He could feel the cold gravel of the roof even through the suit. “Ned, please, and I say this with all the love in my heart, but that was the straightest thing you’ve ever said and it one hundred percent would not work in this situation.” he groaned. 

Ned made a sound of affirmation.“So, that’s definitely fair. But spring break is coming up. Why don’t you tell Mr. Stark ahead of time that you aren’t available on that first weekend and then ask your dude if that works for him?” he suggested. 

Peter jumped up and leaped onto the next roof. “Ned, you’re a genius! There’s no way that could fail,” he said, pausing to perch on a street lamp. “Except for literally all the ways it could definitely fail. Like he might have another meeting or aliens invade New York again or I get a freakish case of the flu.” 

Peter could hear faint sirens coming from a couple of miles away and started to swing towards it, though the sound was largely drowned out by Ned laughing in his ear. “Okay Edward, please continue to laugh at me as I drown in my misery.”. 

“Hey!” Ned exclaimed. “Man, I never should have told you my full name.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter but I did that on purpose. Ned is such a good bro, I love him. Also y'all are really going to hate me next chapter. I'm giving you a little heads up so you don't get too comfortable. Let me know what you think
> 
> <3 voidfangirl


	4. Chapter 4

**Sophomore Year: Spring Break**

Peter stood outside Delmar’s Bodega, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. He had shown up ten minutes early and was waiting for Jason. But fifteen minutes had already passed and he was starting to get fidgety. 

“Perce!”

Peter almost didn’t react but when he looked up he saw Jason half-jogging towards him. “Hey Perce, sorry I’m late, I am really not a fan of your subway.”

Jason was wearing a dark blue button-up and actual loafers. Combined with the glasses and leather satchel sitting on his shoulder he looked like a mix of your quintessential frat boy and someone’s rogue TA. 

Peter’s mouth went dry and he licked his lips while his brain rebooted. It had been a minute too long but he still let out a gasp of mock offense. “How dare you? The subway is essential to a proper New York experience.

“Also, the name is Peter. I know it’s easy to mix up, but a lot of people know me around here, so it’s probably best if you don’t.” Peter glanced down at the leather messenger bag and raised an eyebrow. “What’s with the bag? You bring your brick with you in case you get bored? Or maybe you have some staples in there for some light snacking?”

Jason blushed and ran his hands through his hair, making the ends stick up. “Okay, don’t come for me, it’s called a _loculus_ and lots of Romans carry one. You never know what you might need. And maybe I do have some staples, but I’m sure as hell not sharing with you now.” 

Peter could see Mr. Delmar eyeing them from inside the bodega, grabbing his apron as he prepared a cutting board. Apparently, Peter really was that predictable. He needed to switch things up every once in a while. 

At the exact moment he turned to walk into the bodega, Jason leaned in to kiss him. But instead of kissing his mouth or cheek, Jason’s face mashed into the side of Peter’s head, throwing them both off balance. They looked up at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. 

“Okay, may-”

“Uh, I’m sorry, I thought-” 

Peter knew his face had to resemble a tomato and Jason wasn’t faring much better. “No, it’s okay, it’s more than okay, I am ready for this.” He breathed deeply, begging Aphrodite to make the rest of this date go a little easier. “I wasn’t totally expecting that but let’s try again huh?” 

“Okay awesome, I won’t headbutt you this time,” Jason promised. Peter breathed in again and smiled up at him. He was so used to being a little taller than Jason but as Peter, he was only 5’6” so he had to stand on the tips of his toes to reach Jason’s face. 

Peter softly kissed Jason’s cheek, focusing on the infamous staple scar. He was still surprised by the difference between them when he was Peter. Jason looked noticeably older, light stubble visible up close. 

Jason smiled widely as they stood and stared at each other for far too long. Peter wasn’t sure he could be more mortified but at the same time there was a small part of him that really appreciated how nice and normal this felt. 

He also knew Mr. Delmar was never going to let him live this down. Peter could already hear the teasing that would come every time he was just trying to get a sandwich. He took Jason’s hand and led him into the small sandwich shop. 

“Hey, Pete,” Mr. Delmar greeted. Peter didn’t quite like the way the man was grinning at him. “I was wondering how much longer you were going to loiter outside my shop.”

Peter could feel his face getting warm. His gaze flickered to Jason, who, fortunately, was distracted, looking at the menu. Mr. Delmar followed his line of sight. “Who’s the white boy?”

Peter chuckled. “That’s Jason. He’s an old friend. And you know that I am also a white boy, right?” 

Mr. Delmar rolled his eyes and started making Peter’s usual sandwich. “Oh, you definitely are but we can’t forget that Italian blood, you know?” 

“You’re Italian? I didn’t know that.” Jason chimed in. 

Peter groaned internally, forcing a smile. “Yeah, on my mom’s side.” Jason’s smile was faintly smug and Peter wanted to smack it off his face. Or maybe kiss it. 

As Mr. Delmar took Jason’s order, Peter had a thought. “You know Mr. Delmar, Jason’s got some Italian in him too. His dad is actually from Rome.” 

Funnily enough, Jason and Mr. Delmar gave him similar looks of doubt and confusion. Paying for their sandwiches, Peter said goodbye to Mr. Delmar and wondered how long he could go without coming back to the bodega. 

They exited the shop and started walking towards the park down the street. Peter slipped through the crowd the way only a born New Yorker could, tugging Jason along behind him. The son of Jupiter was slightly less adept at avoiding the people walking past him and smacked into someone at least twice.

Before Peter knew it, an hour had passed, filled with inane chatter and catching up. More than once he caught himself feeling grateful that he didn’t have to deal with any Camp business or problems. But they could only loiter in a New York City park for so long until it got repetitive. 

“So, do you want to see our apartment? I’ll show you Nico’s room as long as you don’t tell him.” Peter propositioned. It wasn’t until he finished talking that he realized he and Nico shared a room. 

“Peter Parker, are you inviting me back to your place?” Jason asked slyly, a mischievous smile lighting up his face. 

Peter felt his face flush but not one to be outdone, he smirked and leaned up to whisper in Jason’s ear. “And what if I am? You gonna accept, Superman?” 

Jason ducked his head and let out a short strangled noise, his face and neck turning a pretty shade of red. Peter threw his head back and laughed at Jason’s embarrassment. Pulling out his phone, he shot a quick text to his cousins. “_Bringing Jason back to the apartment so get out._”

Nico texted back almost immediately. “_I thought I asked for a two-hour heads up? ;)_”

Thalia’s response followed shortly after. “_Gross. You’ve got an hour to yourselves before I come back. If you’re making out I’ll kill both of you._”

Luckily, Peter’s apartment was only a ten-minute walk away from the park. Once they entered the building, Peter greeted the landlord and led Jason upstairs. For some reason, he was nervous about Jason seeing his apartment. 

He stopped in front of the door and fumbled as he tried to get the keys out of his pocket. It took him three tries to finally stick the key in the keyhole and get the door open. Thankfully, Jason stood there patiently with a small smile on his face. Peter kind of wanted to kiss him in that moment. 

Peter led him down the hall and swung open the door to his bedroom. Jason did a full sweep around the room, taking in all the little details. Peter’s ears burned as he saw Jason taking a particular interest in his Star Trek posters and the half-built Lego Millenium Falcon that he had started with Ned. 

“So, what do you think?” Peter asked, trying and failing to hide his nerves.

Jason peered at the chemistry textbook on his desk along with his open notebook full of web-fluid ideas. “I didn’t realize you were such a nerd.” There was a teasing lilt to his voice that made him relax, shoulders untensing. 

Peter ducked past him and picked up his notebook, flipping to one of the pages with the design for his web-shooters. He sat down on the bottom bunk of the bed and turned the book so Jason could see the diagram. “Yeah, it’s actually really interesting. I’ve always enjoyed science and math in school more than English because of my dyslexia, obviously. It was still tough but it was easier to understand because I was lucky enough to not get dyscalculia too. After Athena blessed me, everything just clicks, you know?”

Jason was looking at him with a strange expression on his face that Peter couldn’t interpret. He scrunched up his nose. “What?”

Jason shook his head and his expression turned back to normal. He took the notebook from Peter’s hands and gently shut it, laying it on the nightstand. “Nothing, it’s just, you’re really cute when you’re geeking out,” he said, his voice lowered. 

Jason’s gaze flickered down and it took Peter a moment to realize that he was looking at his lips. His mouth went dry and his mind was drawing a blank on a witty comeback. All he knew was that he _really_ wanted to kiss Jason. 

He slowly leaned in and pressed their lips together. Kissing Jason was different than kissing Annabeth. His lips were chapped but they had the warmth and pressure that Peter was accustomed to feeling.

Jason tried to tug off his shirt but Peter stopped him. He moved back on the bed so there were a couple of inches of space between them. He bit his lip. “Are we going too fast?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just,” Peter broke off, unsure how to phrase it. Jason waited patiently for him to collect his thoughts, moving so he was at one end of the bed and Peter was at the other. “This is only our first date and I don’t want to…”

Jason smiled and laid his hand on top of Peter’s. He relaxed when he was able to identify the understanding in Jason’s eyes. “Hey, it’s okay. We don’t need to do anything today.”

“No, I totally want to do things, fun things, just give me a minute.” Peter buried his face in his hands and groaned. “Ugh, I’ve completely ruined this date, haven’t I?”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” Jason reassured him. “I’m just as happy to hang out with you. I want to spend time with you. I don’t care what we do.”

Peter smiled at him. “Thanks.” His face lit up when he got an idea. “Hey, you know what we should do?”

“Please, enlighten me.”

“Let’s go swinging,” Peter suggested excitedly. 

Jason furrowed his brow. “Swinging?”

“Yeah,” Peter exclaimed, liking the idea more every minute. He jumped out of the bed and pulled his suit out of the closet. He turned it so the spider emblem was facing Jason. “Swinging.”

***

“I would just like it to be noted that I think this is a very bad idea,” Jason said as they stood on the roof of the apartment complex. Peter was in his suit but his mask was off.

“Aww come on, it’ll be fun. I _know_ that you aren’t scared of heights.” Peter teased. “Besides if we fall then you’ll catch us, right Superman?”

Jason peered over the edge of the building before turning back to Peter and looking at him skeptically. “Are you sure your webs can hold both of us?”

“I pick people out of burning buildings and swing them down all the time,” Peter tried to reassure.

Jason’s eyes went wide. “The thought of you in a burning building isn’t really reassuring.”

Peter sighed softly. “If you really don’t want to, we can go back down to the apartment.” 

“No!” Jason exclaimed. He took a deep breath and spoke again, calmer this time. “No, I want to. It’ll be fun.”

Peter beamed and slipped his mask on. He grabbed Jason by the waist and pulled him flush against his chest. He was glad that Jason couldn’t see the blush on his cheeks. He did, however, catch the tips of Jason’s ears turning red. He tossed Jason a cheeky smile. “Hold on.”

Peter jumped off of the side of the building and let them plummet to the bottom, waiting until the last second to shoot a web at the next building. Jason let out a strangled yell but was cut off as the air left his lungs, the downwards momentum hitting him in full force. 

“This is so much worse than I thought,” Jason yelled, burying his face in Peter’s shoulder. 

Peter’s heart melted a little bit at the action. He remembered the first time he had swung in between the tall New York City skyscrapers. He had collapsed on top of one of the buildings, and never quite forgotten the initial exhilaration that he had felt. 

He decided to take pity on his- was it boyfriend? He slowed down the pace so they weren’t falling as much between each swing. He tightened his grip on Jason who eventually opened his eyes. 

Jason let out a laugh and Peter could feel him relaxing. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jason’s face lit up in a giant grin. It caused Peter to smile in response. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Jason so carefree. He didn’t think he ever had if he was being honest.

Peter could see their end destination looming in the distance. “Think you can discreetly fly us up there?”

Jason looked up and grinned. “You’re such a dork.” He complied and Peter could feel as they slowly got higher. 

Once they reached the top of the Empire State Building, Peter set Jason down gently. They were higher than any of the observation decks. New York City stretched out underneath them, the sun slowly setting in the distance and Peter was struck with how beautiful it looked. He turned to Jason. “I wanted to see what the view was like from the top.”

Jason quirked an eyebrow. “You’ve been to the six hundredth floor before, I don’t think this is really the top of the building.”

“You can’t really see New York from up there,” Peter said, sitting down and letting his feet dangle off of the edge. Jason joined him, close enough that his hand was resting on top of Peter’s. “I look out at the city and I just… it’s home, you know?”

“I think so. I get that feeling whenever I look out at New Rome or Camp Half-Blood,” Jason admitted. 

“Don’t you ever want to leave?” Peter asked suddenly. Jason pulled back to look at him and he immediately missed the warmth. 

Jason looked confused. “Maybe for a little bit, but I doubt I would be able to leave forever.”

“But it’s just war after war at Camp. You have to want more than that,” Peter insisted. 

“Camp is my home,” Jason stated firmly. 

He wanted to protest, to convince Jason that he could have a life outside of Camp but something told him it would be like yelling at a rock and hoping that it would move. He sighed in defeat. “Okay. I don’t completely get it, especially after moving back here, but I still remember what Camp felt like after the Titan War.”

Jason beamed at him and Peter returned it, though his smile felt strained. He leaned his head on Jason’s shoulder and turned to look out at the city. Jason’s hand was a heavy weight against his own and Peter couldn’t quite ignore the faint ringing in his head or the strange feeling welling up in chest that warned him that something was going to go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter is late. I had a conference last weekend and have been swamped with work. Normally I do one last edit right before I post a chapter but I found myself dissatisfied with the original ending of this chapter which if you remember I had warned was going to make you hate me. I don't think that applies now and I'm much happier with the ending now.
> 
> I'm literally so happy with the beginning of this chapter. "He looked like a mix of your quintessential frat boy and someone's rogue TA" has to be the best description I've ever written in my life.
> 
> Let me know what you think
> 
> <3 voidfangirl


	5. Chapter 5

**Sophomore Year: Summer Break**

Peter got out of the back of Happy’s car, his backpack slung over one shoulder as the Avengers compound loomed in front of him. He had only been there a couple of times since he had met Tony, the most notable time being when he turned down being an Avenger after he had beaten Toomes. That week he had the chance to actually explore the place. Happy dropped his suitcase down roughly before walking inside, beckoning Peter to follow him. 

This was his first time walking through the front entrance to the compound rather than going to the labs through the back. Happy led him to an office that was labeled “_Security_” and ordered the employee working there to leave for a few minutes. Peter fidgeted and ran a hand through his hair after the employee gave him a bewildered look. He knew how strange his presence must have been. It wasn’t every day that you saw a teenager walking around the Avengers compound being escorted by the head of Security himself. 

Happy sat down at the computer and entered some information in it. There was a whirring from a nearby machine before it ejected a badge that Happy attached to a lanyard before handing it to Peter. The badge was gold with the words “_Level 10_” embossed underneath it in black. The lanyard itself was red on one side and blue on the other. Peter rolled his eyes at the obvious reference to his suit. 

“You’re going to need that any time you go through the front entrance. Since you’re level ten, if you forget to put it on once you are already in the building you’ll still have all access but people might stop to question you,” Happy informed him. He led him back outside to the reception area. Peter squirmed as there was a faint thrumming at the nape of his neck. Everyone in the lobby was staring at him, though it was admittedly not very many people. 

Happy walked over to the desk where a middle-aged man was sitting. “Richard, this is Peter Parker, he’s going to be here often,” he introduced. 

Peter shifted his backpack to his other hand and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“You too,” the man responded after a moment, trying very obviously to not stare at Peter. 

Peter was distracted when a woman in a lab coat moved past them and quickly went through the scanner, her card flaring green as she was granted access. A crisp, vaguely masculine voice rang out, “Olivia Octavius, scientist, R&D, level six access.”

“Which AI is that?” Peter asked. He knew about Karen and FRIDAY but this was a new one. 

“That was FRED, he handles tracking employees entering and moving through the building,” Happy said before scanning his own badge. The light flared green again but this time it was a distinctly feminine Irish voice that spoke. “Harold Hogan, Head of Security, level ten, all access. Welcome back, Happy.”

Peter hesitantly scanned his own card. FRIDAY’s voice echoed through the speaker again. “Peter Parker, personal intern, level ten, all access. Welcome, Mr. Parker. I’ll inform Boss of your arrival.”

“Um, thanks Ms. FRIDAY,” Peter said, feeling a little silly about talking to the wall but his mother had raised him with manners so he tried to get over it. 

“You’re welcome, Mr. Parker,” FRIDAY said, her voice warmer this time. 

“How come FRIDAY was the one who answered for us?” Peter asked as they moved past the security check and into an elevator off to the side of the room. 

Happy scanned his badge at the doors to the elevator and stepped inside. “Because we’re level ten, which is the highest.”

The doors shut and the scene shifted, the elevator became dirtier, the doors struggling to stay closed as it moved through Tartarus and into the living world. Peter thought there was something vaguely wrong. There were strange, pulsing, black root-like things trying to get in through the crack between the doors. Annabeth was physically holding them together and Peter’s breathing quickened when he realized he wasn’t helping her. He took a step forward when there was a ding and the elevator went back to normal. He blinked and clenched his fists as he took a deep breath. He hadn’t had a flashback while he was awake for months. 

“You coming or are you just going to stand there all day?” Happy asked impatiently. 

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Peter replied distractedly, still thinking about the vision. He picked up his suitcase and followed Happy. The black roots were new. They hadn’t been there when he was actually in the Doors of Death but their presence felt familiar. Surprisingly, when Peter thought about it, the roots didn’t feel malicious like Gaea or Kronos. Instead, they felt almost… benevolent, like they were trying to help him. Maybe next time he would let them in. Peter shook his head to get rid of the notion before realizing that he had stopped. Tony was standing in front of him, an eyebrow raised. 

“I thought you would be more excited.”

“Sorry, Mr. Stark, just lost in thought,” Peter said apologetically. 

“Well, there will be plenty of time for that later.” Tony wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulder and led him down the hall. Peter realized that he had no idea where they were because he had been so distracted. “How about for now we focus on the tour?”

“Sounds good,” Peter mumbled, staring around in awe now that he was actually paying attention. 

Tony quickly showed him around, barely spending a minute in each place. That part of the compound seemed more lived in. There was an actual living room that had a couple of things scattered around it and a game room that still a half-finished game of pool. There was even a private training room that was set up for him to practice using his abilities. The training room also included an Olympic sized pool that Peter couldn’t wait to try out. Once they reached the kitchens, Peter’s stomach gave an embarrassing growl and he tried to hide his blush as Tony turned to look at him. 

“When was the last time you ate?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. 

Peter thought for a moment before he remembered. “I had an apple for lunch.”

“Was that the only thing you had for lunch?” Tony asked, his tone implying that the correct answer was probably no. It was unfortunate that that wasn’t the case. Peter’s silence seemed to answer him because he made him sit down on one of the stools as he tried (and failed) to make a grilled cheese. 

Eventually, Peter took pity on his- was it mentor? He got up and started rummaging around the drawers and cupboards until he had found everything he wanted. He quickly made two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cut them in half before handing Tony one of the plates.

The two ate in silence before Tony broke it. He held up half of his sandwich and smiled. “You know I haven’t had one of these in years. My mom used to add honey whenever she made them for me.”

“When I was in sixth grade, this girl used to throw chunks of her peanut butter sandwich at my friend and it would get caught in his hair,” Peter said, recalling Nancy Bobofit at the field trip where he was attacked by Alecto. 

When Tony hadn’t responded, Peter looked up to find that the man had a look of disbelief on his face. “Kid, you see how those were two completely different takes.”

Peter blushed before stuffing the sandwich in his mouth so he wouldn’t embarrass himself any further. 

After they finished their sandwiches, Tony led him down a more secluded hallway. He stopped at a door that was about halfway down and pointed to another door at the end of the hall. “That room down there is Pepper and I’s. This one is yours.”

Peter opened the door and gasped. It was a moderately sized bedroom, definitely bigger than the one in his apartment that he shared with Nico. Still, it wasn’t ostentatiously (“_thank you word of the day calendar_”) big, which he was grateful for. He had a feeling that Tony knew he would be uncomfortable in a large room. The room was painted a dark blue and it had a few Star Trek posters on the walls. There was a large bookshelf in the corner next to a sleek desk that was waiting to be filled with books. His closet was somehow already filled with science pun shirts and there were a bunch of LEGO sets at the bottom that were unopened and ready to be built. 

“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Peter finally managed to say after gaping at the room for five minutes. 

“Now, how about you take some time to settle in, maybe go check out the training room,” Tony suggested, “I still have one or two more places to show you tomorrow.”

Peter nodded, still dazed by the turn of events. When Tony offered him a room in the compound, it never occurred to him that it would be personalized. He had figured that it would be a guest room that he would stay in whenever he visited. 

He hadn’t brought swim trunks but after a quick look through his dresser, he found a pair with small spiders on it. Peter rolled his eyes at the theme but put them on, grabbing a towel from the bathroom before heading to the pool. 

Surprisingly, the water in the pool was heated and Peter sighed in relief when he finally slid into it. He did a few laps around the rim of the pool, feeling more relaxed than he had in weeks. He tried to forget about the newest prophecy and everything that it threatened. He focused on the water sliding over him. Eventually, he sunk to the bottom of the pool. He closed his eyes as he let the water envelop him, breathing deeply.

When he finally opened his eyes, he saw the sunlight streaming through the window, being refracted through the water. There was a glitch and the water turned pitch black but Peter could feel something moving closer. He jolted forward and the water turned back to normal and he saw that he was the only one in the pool. His spider-sense was ringing faintly and he decided it was time for him to get out. 

He thought about the second strange vision that he had had that day and shook his head. It was probably just the chlorine getting to him. For some reason, his spider-sense was becoming more insistent. Once he got out, he stared down at the pool and was disturbed to see that sometime during his swim he had grown a few inches, his hair becoming shaggier until it was a dark brown, almost black. He took a deep breath and concentrated on his love for chemistry and Star Wars. He quickly felt himself getting shorter and shut his eyes as he waited for his center of balance to realign. 

Once he opened his eyes, he checked his reflection in the water and was satisfied to see that he looked normal. His glamour had never fallen without him noticing it before. It was slightly worrying. He hoped that it was a one-time occurrence. If it kept on happening he would need to visit Aphrodite. He shuddered at the thought. 

His spider-sense had quietened but spiked when the door to the pool slammed open, hitting the walls with a resounding crack. Tony rushed in frantically and Peter noted that he still had a wrench in his hand and he was covered in grease. When he saw Peter he visibly relaxed. “Kid, what are you doing?”

“Hey, Mr. Stark. I just finished going for a swim,” Peter said innocently, gesturing to his towel and wet head. He realized that his tattoos were visible and slowly adjusted the towel around his neck so it covered his brand more. He also angled his arms so Tony wouldn’t see the different tattoos on his forearm. 

“And you weren’t close to drowning?” Tony asked, skepticism creeping into his voice. 

“Nope,” Peter said, popping the ‘p.’ “I’m just really good at holding my breath.”

“For twenty minutes at the deep end of the pool?” Tony was raising an eyebrow. 

Peter winced. “I have an enhanced lung capacity and I can hold my breath for a long time?”

Tony squinted at him but fortunately couldn’t come up with an adequate response. “Fine, but just warn me next. I almost had a heart attack when FRI told me that you hadn’t come up for air.”

He felt really guilty about scaring Tony. His panic rose when he realized that FRIDAY might have video footage of him before he had restored his glamour. He kept his face blank so Tony wouldn’t realize that he was freaking out. “Sorry, Mr. Stark.”

Tony let out a deep breath and smiled at him. “No problem, kid. Come on, there’s pizza in the kitchen that’s calling my name.”

“Yeah, sure but I need to shower really quickly. I’ll be there in like, fifteen minutes,” Peter told him. He waited for Tony to nod before he jogged back to his room.

He slipped into the bathroom, taking a moment to gaze around at how lavish it was. There was a giant bathtub with a separate shower. Peter quickly hopped into the shower and got rid of the chlorine water from his hair, leaving him feeling energized. 

Once he got out, he threw on a pair of blue flannel pants and a plain shirt. He paused at the mirror for a moment, his legionnaire tattoo peeking out. He grabbed a hoodie and headed for the door, hesitating when he reached for the handle. 

“Hey FRIDAY?” Peter asked. 

“Yes, Mr. Parker,” FRIDAY’s voice echoed around the room. 

He tried to keep his request vague so Tony wouldn’t be alerted. “Call me Peter. Do you have the footage from the pool just now? I want to see how I can improve my technique.”

“Of course, Peter. The footage will be downloaded for you to access on your computer,” FRIDAY informed him. 

Peter sat down at the desk and opened the brand new computer. Once he had gotten through the start-up procedures, he had FRIDAY pull up the video. His shoulders tensed as he saw himself dive into the pool. The water made it hard to see his figure clearly. If he wasn’t looking for it, he wouldn’t have noticed the gradual change that had occurred. First, his hair seemed to get darker though that easily could have been dismissed as a reflection from the light. The growth spurt was subtle as well, happening over the course of five minutes rather than the normal fifteen seconds. 

He sped the clip up, checking the timestamp and resumed the footage once he had been at the bottom of the pool for twenty minutes. There was a slight jump in the video like the camera had shorted out for a second. To Peter, it looked like he had gone from lying peacefully at the bottom of the pool to him swimming up towards the edge. He narrowed his eyes, lips pursed. The exact moment the camera shorted out had been when his vision had glitched. It couldn’t have been a coincidence but at the same time, he didn’t have an explanation. He felt like the answer was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t wrap his head around the concept. 

He refocused when he saw the Percy on the video screen drag himself out of the water. He sighed in relief, tension draining out of his shoulders when he saw that the room seemed to develop a heavy fog, making it hard to see him except for his mop of hair and his figure. He abruptly shut the video and closed his laptop. 

“Thanks, FRIDAY,” Peter said, satisfied that his glamour was intact. He wanted to tell Tony, but he didn’t know how the man would react. For the moment, he was content with Tony only knowing about one part of his life. 

***

The next day Peter spent some time in the employee labs, getting to know the other scientists and interns. They had all been shocked by his age and more than one had asked if he was supposed to be there when they had caught sight of him for the first time. He had proven himself when the majority of the lab had shuffled over to the, rather extensive, break room for coffee. The last time he had had coffee, it had reacted badly with his ADHD, leaving him jumpy and overly sensitive to everything in the room. Since that incident, both his mother (once she found out) and Hestia had banned him from it. He had refused to drink any since then, even when they weren’t around. He didn’t need to face the wrath of two of the scariest people he knew. Once everyone was gone, he wandered over to a whiteboard that had a complex equation on it. He had seen everyone crowded around the board. Scanning through it, he smiled as he caught the mistake and grabbed the eraser, getting rid of the bottom half of the board. 

There had been a cry of anger from behind him and Peter had turned around to see an angry group of both scientists and interns. The scientist at the front of the pack was glaring at him. “You just erased _weeks_ of work,” he yelled and Peter winced from the volume. 

He couldn’t help the snort that came out of him. “What, you’re a group of geniuses but no one thought to take a picture of the board every time you changed something?” They didn’t have an answer to that, looking at each other uneasily. The head scientist had a vein popping out on his forehead and he seemed to be turning red with anger. Peter tried not to let the smugness show on his face. 

Instead, he smiled sweetly, letting his excitement bleed onto his face. “It was a simple error but a hard one to catch. You just need to make the coefficient negative and then distribute it,” he said, solving the problem as he explained. 

Half of the group was staring at him incredulously. The other half looked close to hitting themselves once they saw how simple the solution was. Only the head scientist was still glaring at him. It reminded him of Flash whenever he would answer a question wrong only for Peter to get it right immediately afterward. 

“I was wondering how long it would take them to get it right,” A voice drawled from the doorway. 

“Mr. Stark!” Peter exclaimed. He hadn’t gotten the chance to see the man at breakfast.

“M-Mr. St-stark,” the head scientist stammered at the same time. 

Tony ignored the man and walked towards Peter, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He took a glance at the whiteboard. “Good job, kid. One more week and I was going to come down here and fix it myself.”

“Did you need something, Mr. Stark?”

“Well, now that you mention it, there is something I need,” Tony said. “I need my _personal_ intern with me so he can, you know, actually intern.”

Peter’s smile fell and he dropped his gaze to the ground. “Sorry, sir.”

Tony huffed out a laugh. “Relax, kid, you aren’t in trouble. I just need to show you some things. Besides, I was the one who told you to come meet the other interns.” 

Peter started to smile again and let Tony lead him out of the lab, leaving the dumbfounded employees behind. Once they were in the elevator, Tony handed him a blindfold and had him put it on. A few seconds after the cloth had been secured around his head, the elevator dinged and he let Tony guide him through the hallways. After a few turns, they entered a room and Tony stopped him. 

“Okay, get ready,” he instructed before he slipped the mask off of his head. Peter blinked a few times to adjust to the change in light before he gasped. “This belongs to you now.”

They had walked into a large lab, at least twice the size of Peter’s room. There was a large workbench taking up one side of the wall. It had large monitors attached to the wall above it. There was another table off to the side, which upon closer examination proved to be a holo table. There was an alcove in the wall, with three different glass cases. Two of the cases held versions of his Spider-suit while the last one was empty. There were three doors off to the side of his lab. One of them had a detox station, the other a testing chamber, and the last one was a bathroom. There were a few big machines placed around the room and Peter couldn’t wait to investigate them.

He turned to Tony. “Mr. Stark, I don’t- I don’t know what to say.” Tony opened his mouth, probably ready with a sarcastic or witty response, but Peter interrupted him by throwing his arms around the man for two seconds before backing off. “Sorry, I know we’re not there yet, but _thank you_. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

Tony, who had been stiff, relaxed, quickly putting an indifferent mask back on, but Peter had seen the way he had smiled, his eyes wrinkling around the corners. “Yeah, no problem kid. Maybe you could bring one of your friends down here. What was his name? Ed?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “It’s Ned, Mr. Stark.”

“That’s what I said,” Tony dismissed. “You could also bring that other friend of yours. The one that intimidates Happy.”

Petter furrowed his eyebrows before realization dawned and he had to hold back a laugh. “You mean MJ?”

“You like the girl, don’t you?” Tony asked. 

That got Peter to stop laughing and a blush bloomed across his face. “What? No, I just- MJ’s just a friend.” He was avoiding Tony’s eye, making him look like he was lying but he _wasn’t_. He had never thought about MJ like that before. Besides, he was dating Jason and unless they broke up, he refused to even think about dating someone else.

Tony simply hummed in acknowledgment, letting the matter drop. Peter knew that he would probably bring it up again. “Oh, by the way, I talked to Pepper and she wants to have dinner tonight.”

Peter nodded. That made sense. Miss Potts was a really busy person and she probably didn’t get to see Tony that often. “That’s cool, Mr. Stark. Maybe we can work together on something tomorrow.”

Tony sighed and placed his head in his hands, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Kid, she wants to have dinner with _you_.”

Peter’s eyes bugged out of his head and he started to hyperventilate. “What? I can’t have dinner with _the_ Pepper Potts. I don’t have anything to wear. I’m probably going to say something stupid and then she won’t like me and I’ll never be able to come back here again and-”

“Woah, kid, calm down.” Tony placed his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “You didn’t freak out this much when you met me.”

“No offense, Mr. Stark, but you aren’t _Pepper Potts_. She’s the youngest female CEO of the most successful Fortune 500 company. Like if I saw her, I would probably spontaneously combust,” Peter pointed out. 

Tony put a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Betrayed by my own intern. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. FRI, can you believe this?”

“Well Boss, Miss Potts has an impressive list of accomplishments, one that rivals your own. It’s not that far of a stretch-”

Tony reared his head as his AI took Peter’s side. He let out a yell and flopped down dramatically on a nearby chair. “Everyone is turning against me.”

Peter laughed at the dramatized response, the tightness in his chest easing. Something about seeing Tony act so… normal, made him feel better. “Are you sure Miss Potts wants to meet me?”

Tony turned to look at him, suddenly serious. “Kid, she’s excited to meet you. Don’t sell yourself short.” 

Peter nodded before turning to look at his outfit. “I really need to change.”

Peter killed some more time exploring his new lab, which was right next to Tony’s before he headed to his room to change. He ended up just throwing on one of the nicer sweaters that he found in the closet. Once he got to the kitchens, Miss Potts and Tony were already there. Peter couldn’t stop himself from comparing her to a goddess. She had the same aura of power like she was in control of everything around her. When she caught sight of him, she smiled and Peter couldn’t help but return it. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been visibly vibrating in excitement. 

Pepper walked over to him and pulled him into a loose hug. “Peter, it’s so good to meet you. Tony’s told me so much about you that I feel like you could be my intern.”

Peter was vaguely aware of Tony glaring at Pepper for some reason, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “It’s g-good to meet you too, Miss Potts,” he managed to get out with minimal stuttering. 

“It’s Pepper,” she insisted and Peter nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course, Pepper,” he repeated.

Tony let out an undignified squawk and Peter sent him a strange look before turning his attention back to Miss P- Pepper. He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. “What are you guys making? Can I help?”

Pepper laughed and Peter compared the sound to a windchime. “Of course, we’re making lasagne. The recipe was passed down from Tony’s great-grandmother.” She walked back into the kitchen and he followed her, awestruck.

He helped her make the filling, chopping up carrots and celery so she could put it in the filling. Eventually, they had to kick Tony out of the kitchen after he tried to help. The genius had grumbled but had sat down behind the island, watching them work. 

Once they had gotten the lasagne in the oven, they sat down in the living room where Pepper started to tell Peter the most embarrassing stories of Tony she could think of. 

“So I walk in and Tony is stuck in the suit. The bots are trying to get him out of it and he’s standing there as DUM-E pulls at his leg. After he sees me, he freezes and he looks exactly like a deer in headlights,” Pepper said, feigning the same expression. Peter started laughing, the image of Tony stuck in the suit flashing in his head. His mentor was slumped in one of the chairs, pouting petulantly as they made fun of him. 

The oven dinged and Pepper moved to take out the lasagne. Peter and Tony got up as well and set the table. Pepper had served three plates and placed the rest of the lasagne in the middle of the table. 

“One of those is for you. Tony told me about your enhanced metabolism,” Pepper told him, gesturing to a second pan. Peter smiled bashfully and thanked her, his hand going to rub at the back of his neck. 

They ate in silence for a few minutes until Pepper broke it again. “You know, Peter I was thinking that maybe you could come shadow me for the day. I’m sure that in a few days you’ll get bored of the lab. You could see the other side of Stark Industries.”

Peter almost choked on his food. He quickly finished chewing and put down his fork. “Really?”

“Really?” Tony exclaimed at the same time. Peter noticed the scowl he was sending her and he wondered why his mentor didn’t want him to go. 

It wasn’t going to stop him though. A whole day with Pepper sounded like a dream come true. “I would be honored.”

The conversation picked up from there. Tony started to complain about not seeing his intern but Pepper just stared at him before he backed down. He was struck with the domesticity of the scene. The two had started to bicker and it reminded Peter of the arguments he and Annabeth used to have. A small smile spread across his face at the memory and he couldn’t say that he minded the new normal he had developed.

***

The next day Peter put on his suit and headed down to the training room. He figured it wasn’t really a secret that Spider-Man worked with Tony Stark so he didn’t try to avoid anyone. He still had his mask on and crawled along the ceiling towards the training room. He had managed to scare a handful of employees, who had all screamed. If he caused anyone to drop their stuff he would stop and help them but for the most part, he would just apologize and move on. 

“Hello, Spider-Man.” FRIDAY’s voice caused him to start. She sounded oddly amused. “Boss has asked that you refrain from scaring the employees.”

Peter turned to look into the nearest camera for a moment before he continued to crawl along the ceiling. When he turned the corner there was a startled yelp and Peter saw one of the interns clutching his chest in fright. 

“Sorry,” he called, leaving the intern standing there.

“Boss has asked that you get off of the ceiling and ‘walk like a normal person.’” FRIDAY said calmly.

Peter thought about it for a minute before he nodded and stood up. He started walking sideways along the wall. 

“Seriously kid?” Tony asked, his voice filtering through the comms in the suit. Peter grinned impishly, passing by a gaping scientist. 

“What?” he asked defensively. “Technically, I’m walking like a normal person instead of crawling _and_ I’m not on the ceiling.”

“Yeah, whatever.” There was a pause. “You passed the training room.”

Peter inhaled sharply and scurried back down the hall, looking for the doorway. Once he turned the corner, he stopped abruptly and turned to glare at the nearest camera. “Really?”

Tony started to crack up. “I can’t believe you actually fell for that, kid. I thought you were supposed to be a genius.”

Peter groaned and ignored the man. Once he got into the training room, he took a few minutes to warm up before he had FRIDAY call down the drones which he was quickly surrounded by. He closed his eyes and let his other senses take over. The base of his neck was thrumming and Peter tensed as he heard the machinery inside one of the drones power up. He backflipped away from the shot and instinctively fired a web at the drone, using the momentum to bring it crashing to the ground.

As soon as he was done with one drone, another would start to fire. Eventually, Peter was dodging multiple shots. At some point he had opened his eyes, finding it too difficult to use his senses for more than three of the drones. He had just finished webbing a drone to the wall when there was a shrill ringing in his ear and a drone that he thought he had disabled landed a lucky shot to his chest. He fell to the ground with a hard thump and groaned. He shut his eyes to try and lessen the pain he was feeling throughout his back and chest. 

After a few minutes, he got up and walked over to the bench. He grabbed a water bottle and lifted the bottom part of his mask up, chugging half of it. 

“Gotta say, that was impressive,” a voice said from behind him and Peter jumped, getting into a loose fighting stance. The man held up his hands in the universal gesture of peace. 

“Relax kid,” the man said. He held out a hand. “My name is Rhodey, I’m Tony’s friend.”

***

Peter sighed and rubbed at his eyes. He had been in his lab all day, working on new gauntlets for Thalia. Not that she was aware that he knew about his cousins becoming vigilantes. They hadn’t appeared during any of his patrols yet and he was pretty sure the delay was caused by excessive practice with their gear. The gauntlets were going really well but he could only spend so many hours looking at the screen before his eyes needed a break. “Hey, Karen, what time is it?”

“It’s currently 9:42 PM, Peter. You have been working for the last seven hours,” Karen’s voice rang out. It was still a little strange to hear it outside of the suit. Still, it made the lab feel a little bit more like his, rather than one he was just temporarily using. 

The reminder of the time seemed to trigger his stomach, which gave a loud rumble. The headache that had been forming made sense now. He needed to eat at least every hour because of his advanced metabolism. Besides a few snacks he had eaten throughout the day, the last major meal he had was lunch. “I need cookies,” he muttered to himself. 

He quickly organized his holotable into the different files he wanted. He furrowed his eyebrows when he was hit with a concerning thought. “When was the last time Tony ate?”

“Boss last ate at 11:33 AM, where he had a smoothie before going back to work in his lab,” FRIDAY informed him.

Peter groaned and dragged a hand down his face in exasperation. How was he going to convince the man to eat? The only times he had seen Tony eat was when Peter had mentioned how hungry he was… A grin split his lips as he got an idea. He quickly made his way to Tony’s lab and peaked his head in. When he didn’t see his mentor he frowned and walked inside. 

“Mr. Stark?”

“Over here, Pete,” Tony called out from the side of the room. When Peter walked over he found Tony working on a new Iron Man suit. The plating of the suit was open, wires and other small pieces on display. Peter was in awe for a moment before he shook his head to remind himself of his goal. 

“Hey, Mr. Stark. I was just wondering what you were working on,” he said innocently, playing the part of eager teen. 

Tony looked at him suspiciously before he seemed to soften. He gestured for him to get closer. Peter was about to move when his stomach gave a loud rumble. He ducked his head, his cheeks burning and it also hid his smile. 

Tony looked suspicious again. “When was the last time you ate?”

Peter didn’t say anything, deciding to stare bashfully down at the ground instead. He heard Tony sigh and get up from his seat. A pair of arms landed on his shoulders and started to lead him out of the lab. “Come on, Spiderling, let’s get you something to eat.”

Once they were in the kitchen, Tony started looking through the cupboards. Peter used the distraction to his advantage, making himself seem more open. “Mr. Stark?” he called, making his tone hesitant. 

Tony turned to look at him and Peter bit his lip. “I was wondering… do you want to make chocolate chip cookies and watch a movie with me?”

Tony seemed torn and Peter immediately backtracked. “You don’t have to! It was a stupid question.”

Peter almost missed the panic that flashed across Tony’s face before it was replaced with determination. “I really hope you know how to make cookies because I don’t know where to start.”

Peter’s face lit up and he started to pull ingredients from the cupboards as he had Tony set the oven to the right temperature. When he saw Tony almost put a half cup of salt instead of sugar into the bowl, he screamed and ran across the kitchen from where he was cutting the chocolate to stop him. He decided to have them switch spots. While Tony was distracted, he added a few drops of food coloring into the wet ingredients and mixed them together. 

Tony stood over his shoulder as he slowly incorporated the dry ingredients. When the dough ended up turning blue, Tony paled and started to frantically check their ingredients to see if they had accidentally added a chemical to the dough.

Peter let him search for a minute before he couldn’t stop his laughter. Tony whipped around to look at him only to gape when he saw the small container of food dye that Peter was holding up. 

“You!” Tony accused, threateningly pointing a spatula at him.

Peter started laughing even harder at the sight but stopped abruptly as Tony smeared the leftover batter from the spatula on his face. His eyes flickered to the open bag of flour sitting next to the bowl of cookie dough. Tony followed his gaze and understanding dawned on his face. He made an aborted move to stop him but Peter was quicker and managed to grab a handful of flour and throw it on his mentor. He quickly ducked under his arm and ran to the other side of the kitchen.

Tony guffawed before he started to smirk and walk towards Peter with his arms open. “Come here, you deserve a hug.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure we aren’t there yet,” Peter tried to stall. He took a step back but startled when he bumped into the counter. The distraction was all Tony needed to cover the rest of the distance between them and hug him tightly, causing Peter’s clothes to be covered in white powder. The hug barely lasted ten seconds but it was enough to make Peter miss the warmth. He couldn’t remember the last time his father had hugged him, if ever.

Tony seemed equally embarrassed by the display of affection, turning to start putting away the ingredients. Peter quickly scooped the dough onto the tray and placed it in the oven. He took a seat next to Tony at the island. His mentor looked at him quizzically. 

“What’s up with the blue cookies?” he asked. 

Peter was quiet for a moment. He didn’t want to give too much away but that the same time he wanted to share some part of his past with his mentor. “My mom used to make them for me.”

Tony had stilled and turned to look at him. He waited patiently until Peter was ready to talk. He took a deep breath before starting, “My stepdad was… a pretty shitty guy. He used to yell at us. A couple of times he even…” he trailed off for a moment, eyes glazing over as he remembered the bruises that would show up on his mom’s skin. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn’t need to have a panic attack. “One day they got into this stupid fight about blue food not being real. After that, my mom would go out of her way to bring home blue candy or make whatever dinner she could blue. She couldn’t do much, but it was the little things she did that showed me she wasn’t completely under his control.”

“What about your dad?” Tony asked hesitantly.

Peter scowled at the countertop, avoiding Tony’s gaze. Poseidon had become better at being a part of his life, but Peter doubted he would ever be able to forgive the man for putting his mom in the position of choosing between having an abusive husband and her child’s safety. Though with Smelly Gabe around that safety was relative anyways. “He didn’t stick around long after I was born. I’ve talked to him a couple of times but… Honestly, Mr. Stark, I know you better than I know him.” 

It wasn’t a lie either. When he thought about it, Peter really did know Tony better than he knew Poseidon. He knew Tony didn’t trust easily. That he put up a facade for the cameras but he was actually a caring and compassionate person. He knew that he threatened the bots in his lab but actually loved them like they were his own children. He knew Tony was a good person and that seemed like ten times more than he knew about his actual father. 

When Tony didn’t say anything, Peter finally looked up at him. His mentor was glaring at the table, his hands clenched into fists. “Mr. Stark? Are you okay?”

Tony visibly relaxed, his features softening and there was a fond smile tugging at his lips. “Come on kid, let’s go pick out a movie.”

Peter leaped out of his seat and followed him to the living room. When they finally settled down with the batch of cookies and Finding Nemo queued up, Peter realized how grateful he was to have a mentor like Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Irondad so much and this is admittedly very self-indulgent.  
Let me know what you think  
<3 voidfangirl


	6. Chapter 6

**Sophomore Year: Summer Break**

“Mr. Stark, you really don’t have to do this,” Peter pleaded with Tony again, but his mentor seemed determined to ignore him. 

“Kid, it’s no problem. Happy has something he needs to do today and I’m free so I’ll drive you,” Tony explained for the hundredth time but Peter was nothing, if not, stubborn. 

“I can get a taxi,” he tried to reason but Tony was already sitting in the driver’s seat, looking expectantly at him. Peter let out a loud groan and opened the car door, reluctantly sitting down. 

“You would think that you’d be more grateful,” Tony snarked, raising an eyebrow at him as he reversed the car. 

“I’m trying to do this for your own safety, Mr. Stark,” Peter explained. Tony didn’t say anything, only made a noise that conveyed he didn’t believe him. “I’m serious. My aunt is not your biggest fan after everything that happened at Homecoming.”

“All the more reason to talk to her,” Tony dismissed, causing Peter to let out a long sigh. He wasn’t too worried about Hestia but if Thalia saw him… 

The silence eventually became too much so Peter started to talk about some random project he was working on with Ned. Tony occasionally made a comment but for the most part, he let Peter talk at him. When they finally parked the car, Peter nervously led Tony to his apartment. He knew that Tony had already been inside before so there was no reason for him to be worried but he had a strange feeling. Not anything dangerous, just… off. 

“Kid, you okay? You look like you’re expecting someone to attack you,” Tony said after Peter had dropped his keys for the second time. The badly disguised worry in his voice made Peter feel guilty. He took a deep breath to calm down before he managed to get the key in right and swing the door open. 

The main sound in the apartment was coming from the living room. Peter could hear the television playing a movie that he identified as Mulan based on the song. Once the couch came into view, he tensed as the feeling he had suddenly made sense.

“Mo- Mrs. Blofis!” he exclaimed, trying to sound natural and but unfortunately stumbling as soon as he opened his mouth.

His mom looked up, confusion apparent on her face before she saw Tony behind him. She put on a welcoming smile but Peter could see the strain in it. Nevertheless, she got up and gave him a big hug that he immediately melted into. “Peter! May and I were trying to surprise you. I didn’t realize that…” she trailed off and turned to face Tony, holding out her hand, “Mr. Stark, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Sally Blofis, Peter’s told me all about you.”

Tony hesitantly took her hand and shook it, throwing Peter a confused glance. “I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t afforded the same.”

Peter shrugged and smiled bashfully. “It never came up?”

Both of them looked ready to say something but were interrupted by movement from the couch. Estelle, who had been asleep, had woken up and was staring at the three of them. She rubbed her eyes and gave a small yawn, causing Peter’s heart to melt at the action. When she finally recognized him her face lit up and she tumbled off of the couch. She threw herself onto his legs and Peter scooped her up. 

“Missed you,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“I missed you too,” he reassured her, patting her back. 

Estelle abruptly leaned forward and patted his face. “Do the magic,” she demanded.

Peter’s heart turned stuttered in his chest and he froze before he put on a strained smile and chuckled nervously. He turned to Tony who had a strange look on his face that quickly smoothed over when he saw Peter looking. “Not right now, there’s someone I want you to meet. Estelle, this is Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark, this is Estelle.”

Estelle made a motion to put her down and then she stumbled over to Tony, her steps still unsure. Tony seemed increasingly panicked by the approaching toddler who was acting like she was about to decide his fate. She looked at him seriously, or as seriously as a toddler can. “Who’s your favorite superhero?”

Tony chuckled and glanced at Peter. “I’ve heard Spider-Man is pretty cool.”

After a moment she nodded sagely and gave him a giant smile. Tony let out a sigh of relief that he couldn’t help but be amused by. His amusement quickly faded when Estelle leaned in and whispered loudly, “You wanna know a secret?”

“What?” Tony whispered back in the same manner. 

“My brother is Spider-Man,” Estelle told him and erupted in a fit of giggles. Tony froze and slowly turned to look at Peter who winced. 

“Oops?”

He was saved when Hestia walked into the living room but stopped when she saw Tony standing there. “Mr. Stark,” she greeted. “I see you’ve met Sally and Estelle.”

“May, just the person I wanted to talk to.”

“It’s Ms. Parker,” she responded coldly. Tony looked like he had been slapped and Peter had to refrain from wincing. “I actually needed to discuss Peter’s… internship with you.” She turned to Sally, her voice notably warmer and apologetic when she said, “I’m sorry to kick you out, Sally.”

His mom had a strained smile on her face. Peter knew it must have been hard for her to act like he wasn’t her son. Ideally, she would have been the one about to destroy Tony but it would have been strange with Hestia as his guardian. It was better this way, as much as it hurt. Peter got to see his mom and she got to raise Estelle in a relatively safe environment. 

“Yes, of course. Estelle, please grab your blanket and Bessie. Peter, if you wouldn’t mind walking us out?”

“Do we have to?” Estelle whined. Sally sent her a stern look and she looked down at the ground dejectedly before running to the couch and grabbing her Finding Nemo themed blanket and a custom-made stuffed animal Peter had gotten for her last birthday that looked like an ophiotaurus.

Tony looked composed but Peter could see the nervousness in his expression. Peter shot his mentor an apologetic look before he picked up Estelle and took her outside into the hallway, his mother following behind him. Once the door was shut, he sagged in relief. “That was closer than I want to admit.”

Sally just hummed and Peter sighed before wrapping her in a hug, crushing Estelle between them. When she started to squirm, he pulled back and set her down. “You’re still my mom, no matter what,” he tried to reassure her. 

“No, I know, it’s just… hard.” Sally sighed and shook her head, wiping a hand down her face. “C’mon, we can go to that bodega on the corner and you can tell me about your trip.”

***

Tony felt dread well up in his stomach as he sat down on the couch next to May Parker. Normally, the woman gave off an aura of calmness and warmth. Against all reason, she was one of the few people (the list being extended to Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, and Peter) he felt comfortable with. This time, however, there was something in her eyes that scared him. When she told him to call her Ms. Parker, Tony had a strong feeling that he should have listened to Peter’s warning. 

After two minutes of May staring at him intensely, Tony decided that she probably wasn’t going to be the one to initiate the conversation. “So, _Ms. Parker_, I-”

“I wonder, Mr. Stark,” May cut him off, making it clear that she had been waiting for him to speak, “how much do you know about Peter?”

The question felt like a slap in the face. The feeling was quickly replaced by anger and indignation. Of course, he knew things about Peter! This was the kid that he had gotten attached to. Despite all his efforts to stay away. And yes, maybe he was selfish for keeping the kid around but the awestruck look the kid got sometimes made him feel less like a failure. 

“Now-”

“No, you don’t get to speak!” May yelled and Tony felt an honest-to-God wave of terror wash over him. He wondered if he was imagining the blazing fire in her eyes. It seemed like he was being judged and the outcome would not be in his favor. He blinked and the fire disappeared, leaving May sitting there. She was calm but Tony could see how tense her frame was, the anger simmering just below the surface. 

“I have known Peter for _years_. And for all that boy has gone through, he is still so strong. I don’t want to see that disappear because he met you. Do you even care about him?” May demanded.

Tony’s chest constricted painfully. This woman’s opinion shouldn’t matter to him and yet it did because she mattered to Peter. He scowled at her. “Of course I care about Peter. I gave him a suit and I make sure that he’s safe out there.”

May scoffed, disbelief clear on her face. “You make sure he’s safe out there? That’s rich coming from the person who took his suit.”

Tony’s face scrunched up. The kid had to learn his lesson and he gave it back once he had fixed the mistake. “I did that for his own good. He messed up and had to learn-”

May jumped off of the couch and whirled on him. “He’s sixteen,” she shouted, “he made a mistake. He shouldn’t have been _crucified_ by the man he looks up to more than anything because he was still learning.”

“People could have died,” Tony tried to defend himself even though he was starting to feel the familiar guilt starting to make itself known. He _had_ been harsh on the kid.

“So? People die every day. Peter was trying to stop a madman from selling dangerous weapons based off of the information he had. Maybe if you had told him about the raid instead of staying distant then we could have avoided everything that happened,” May reasoned.

Tony pursed his lips. He was starting to get tired of her telling him what he _should_ have done. “It’s in the past now. I won’t lie and say I don’t have regrets but everything worked out in the end. Peter fixed his mistake and came out without a scratch.”

May gaped at him, disbelief clear on her face. Tony was starting to feel like he had missed something vital. She collapsed onto the couch and cradled her face in her hands. “You really don’t know,” she whispered.

Tony felt confusion and dread creep up on him. “I don’t know what.”

“What do you know about Peter’s powers?” she asked suddenly.

Tony blinked at the sudden change of topic. “He has the normal spider-kid things. He can stick to walls, has a weird sixth sense, enhanced strength and healing-”

“How long do you think it would take for him to heal a broken bone?”

He furrowed his brow. “In relation to the normal 6 weeks? Maybe one week.”

“Three hours,” May whispered. “It takes three hours for him to heal a broken arm.”

He knew the kid was special but that healing factor was almost unbelievable. It was better than Steve’s by far and who knew what kind of medical discoveries could be made based on the kid’s blood. If Ross ever found out… well, Tony would never let him find out. A chill went up his spine when he realized how many injuries the kid must have hidden. He was afraid to ask, wanted to live in his little bubble of denial but he needed to know. “Did Peter… was he injured? At Homecoming.” May nodded and a heavy weight settled itself over his shoulders. “How did…”

“He dropped his phone in Toomes’ car and tracked it to a warehouse in Brooklyn. The man was waiting inside and he destroyed the support beams before flying out. Peter was caught in the middle,” May told him hesitantly.

Tony deflated and it suddenly got harder to see as his eyes misted over. A horrible image of Peter crushed under a few tons of rock appeared unbidden in his mind. He would have been crying out for help but no one would have answered because Tony had taken his _goddamn_ suit, the one thing that could have kept him safe. “Please tell me that’s it,” he whispered, his voice cracking.

May’s silence was enough of an answer and he gestured for her to continue. She scowled and Tony assumed it was at the memory. Though it would have been more than fair if she was scowling at him. She sounded angry when she said, “He told me that he managed to get onto the outside of the plane before Toomes noticed him. The man idiotically destroyed the engines. Peter had to manually steer the plane from the outside and crashed on the beach.” Tears started to form in her eyes and Tony’s heart lurched at the thought of there being _more_. “They fought on the beach and Toomes managed to get the upper hand. He… he impaled Peter with his wings. The only reason Peter won was because of his advanced healing and Toomes’s wings were damaged during the crash.”

There was silence as Tony processed what she said. The tears were flowing freely down his face and he didn’t want to think about how close he had come to losing the kid and not even knowing it. Rage filled his chest and he wanted nothing more than to find Toomes and smash his head into the wall. As quickly as it was there, the rage left. There was no one to blame but himself. God, the kid must have thought he didn’t care. “What can I do?”

“Now? Nothing,” May said bluntly, making Tony wince. “But you have to make sure this never happens again.”

“Of course,” Tony immediately agreed. He would die before he let anything happen to the kid again. 

“And you need to let him know you care,” May ordered. 

This caused Tony to hesitate for a moment (not because he didn't care about the kid but because anyone he cared about ended up hurt) before he nodded resolutely. “I can do that.”

May relaxed and looked like she was about to say something when they were both distracted by the door opening. Peter walked in and Tony let out a breath of relief at seeing him safe. He was probably going to make things worse but he couldn’t stop himself from jumping up and throwing his arms around him.

“Mr. Stark?” And wow, the kid sounded so confused but Tony just tightened his grip slightly. “I thought we weren’t there yet.”

Tony let out a choked laugh. “Don’t worry kid, we’re there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things were so fluffy last chapter so obviously, I had to make _someone_ suffer. Is Tony's reaction realistic enough? I had some trouble writing it and would love to hear what y'all think.   
Also for anyone who forgot, as far as Tony knows, Hestia is just a normal person named May, which is why Peter/Percy calls her Hestia and Tony calls her May.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sophomore Year: Summer Break**

Peter moved through the streets of New York with ease. The sky was starting to go down on the horizon and he was hypersensitive of the wind whistling across his skin, keeping him grounded. He was only half paying attention to his surroundings, more focused on the thoughts swirling around his head. 

Things had changed between him and Tony after Hestia had talked to him. The man had actually apologized for taking his suit. When Peter found out that his mentor hadn’t known he was hurt in the first place, it was like a punch to the gut. He had thought that Tony didn’t care. It was a stupid thought because all the man did was care. He cared about Pepper and Rhodey and Happy. He even cared about Captain America, Steve, whatever. But the man had _hugged_ him. He cared about Peter enough to admit that he had been wrong.

Peter was ripped from his thoughts as his web missed the building and he unexpectedly plummeted towards the street. He quickly fired another web onto the nearest building and rolled onto the roof. The gravel bit into his suit as he laid there, breathing heavily as he tried to get over the shock. Once he stood up, the hairs on the back of his neck rose and he looked around warily. He couldn’t see anything and the ringing in his ears was faint enough that he didn’t think it was too much of a problem. He would just have to keep his guard up. There was a flash of black from the corner of his eye and whipped around but there was nothing there. He sighed and launched off the building. 

He continued to move through the buildings, this time completely aware of everything around him due to his paranoia. There was a blur of black on his left and he stopped abruptly, clinging onto the side of a brownstone. There wasn’t anyone there and he blushed as he spotted the black umbrella on the roof across from him. 

He had only made it two blocks before he caught movement out of the corner of his eye again. He whipped his head around to look at it long enough for him to crash onto the roof of the building he was supposed to run over. He tucked in his legs and tried to roll into the fall in order to minimize any damage. He sat up and ran a hand down his face. He wanted to take off his mask but he was surrounded by taller buildings that made it possible for anyone to see who he was. 

Peter pressed the palms of his hands into his head, trying to alleviate the pressure that was building there. “_Get it together!_” He kept having sporadic visions during the day but he couldn’t figure out the source. He knew that he probably should have gone to Hestia months ago when it started but he was content to ignore it when it seemed like a one-off occurrence. The number of visions was starting to rack up and he probably needed to tell someone about it. He sighed, not looking forward to the conversation he was going to have when he got home.

“Peter, your heart rate is elevated. Would you like me to contact Mr. Stark?” Karen’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“No, it’s fine Karen. I just thought I saw something. I’m probably just sleep-deprived,” he reassured her.

“I’m not detecting any signs of high blood pressure which would indicate a lack of sleep. Are you sure you don’t want me to alert Mr. Stark?” Karen asked again.

“No, Karen-”

A sharp ringing in his ears interrupted him and he whipped his head up as he heard gunshots. Running to the edge of the building he couldn’t see anything suspicious but there was a bank across the street. Jumping on the roof of the bank, he closed his eyes and focused on his hearing. He could faintly make out the sound of yelling from inside as well as the even fainter sirens in the distance. It was most likely a hostage situation but based on the time, only the staff would have been inside. That made his job slightly easier with fewer civilians to get out. 

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a door on the roof of the bank, but there was an air duct. He pried off the covering and crawled down the vent. The space was cramped but he had enough room to crawl without bumping his elbows along the side of the vent. 

He followed the sound of voices until he got into the main room of the bank. He counted four guys in the room, though it was possible there were more already in the vault. There was a group of ten people huddled on the floor, tied up with rope, and two of the men had their guns trained at them. Peter cursed when he spotted the alien tech that two of the robbers had. He should have realized that just because Toomes was in jail, it didn’t get rid of the weapons he had already sold.

Based on the design, the guy on the right had the high-concentrated laser and the other one had an anti-gravity gun. The laser was probably going to be more destructive. He spent the next few minutes slowly opening the grate, trying to minimize the amount of noise it made. Once he had safely stored it inside of the air duct, he crawled out and pressed himself against the wall, climbing onto the ceiling. It was going to give away his position immediately but Peter shot a web at the barrel of the laser gun, pulling it back and towards him and webbing it to the ceiling. 

The gunmen quickly turned on him, firing multiple shots. Peter leaped onto the floor, ducking under a spray of bullets and dodging a beam from the anti-gravity gun. He shot a web at the guy who had the laser gun and pulled his feet out from underneath him. Turning around, he ducked underneath a punch and grabbed the man’s collar, sending a quick jab at his temple to knock him out. There was a sharp ringing in his head and he jumped to the right, narrowly avoiding another beam of energy. 

The room seemed to suddenly get darker and Peter screamed in frustration because this could not be happening again! The darkness didn’t go away this time and Peter was left stumbling as his Spider-Sense screamed at him about the possible danger. Strangely, the gunmen were yelling about the dark as well, making him doubt whether this was really another one of his visions.

There was a crackle of electricity and a figure was briefly illuminated. Peter felt a stab of annoyance flash through him. _“Great, another thing for me to take care of.”_

“Karen, turn on infrared.”

His sight lit up in shades of red and blue. Peter saw a mass of red from the group hostages, which made him sigh in relief. He turned to look at the robbers when there was a bright flash that left him temporarily blinded. “Karen, turn infrared off. I should have realized it was a bad idea with Lightning-McQueen over there.”

There were a few pained screams and the light returned to the room. Peter quickly blinked the spots out of his vision. When he finally got back to normal, he saw the two gunmen on the ground, groaning in pain. He quickly shot two webs at them to tie them to the floor. The sirens were getting louder which meant he needed to wrap this up quickly. 

Looking up, he did a double-take at the two people standing there. One was wearing a full-body suit that had a lightning bolt down the center. There were lightning bolts on her arms and her boots. She had gold pauldrons protecting her shoulders and her gauntlets seemed more sturdy than anything else she was wearing. In addition to her mask, she had a golden circlet around her hair. 

Peter could barely make out the figure of the person standing next to her, though he seemed to be floating on air. He was wearing a pure black cloak that had rips at the bottom, exposing black boots that broke the illusion of flight. Peter’s eyes were drawn to the golden clasp around his neck, the only source of color. The cloak seemed to draw in the light from the room making chills run down his spine. The cloaked figure lifted his head and Peter was disturbed to find his mask had red fabric covering the eyes. 

He let out a sigh of relief when he realized that it was just his cousins. He had to admit that their suits were impressive. Hestia had told them that they had been training with their enhanced powers but were going to join him soon. That had been three weeks ago and he was starting to get impatient but here they finally were. 

He didn’t have time to do anything before he heard yelling from deeper inside the bank, getting closer by the second. He glanced towards the hostages, still tied up before he took a deep breath to clear his head. He turned towards the two vigilantes. “I need you to get the hostages out of here safely, teleport them if you have to,” he ordered. “Sparky, you’re with me. I can hear at least another three guys on their way back and they probably have a hostage. Remember, we’re trying to subdue them, not kill them so don’t aim for anywhere fatal. That means no chest or headshots.” 

The two looked completely caught off guard but quickly complied. Thalia had assumed a loose defensive stance but Peter could tell that she was tense. Nico had moved over to the hostages and was teleporting them out a few at a time. Trusting that he could take care of it, Peter focused his attention on the hallway that the rest of the robbers were coming down. He cocked his head at the archway above the entrance. It was a strangely convenient blindspot for a bank, though not many people looked above them when they were walking regardless. 

Thalia had apparently noticed the way he was looking at the hallway despite the mask. “What is it?” she asked, and Peter noticed the strange vibrato to her voice, meaning she was using a modulator. 

He tilted his head towards her. “Just thinking. You up for an ambush? You’re going to have to keep them distracted.” He turned back towards the stretch of the wall above the hallway. 

She grinned and it reminded him of a wolf, all teeth and a little bit of excitement. “Let’s do it.”

Peter shot a web and positioned himself right above the hallway entrance, completely out of sight from anyone walking down it. A tense minute passed that was only interrupted when Dementor-Guy reappeared. Peter saw him exchange a few words with Sparky but he was too focused on listening for the gunmen to pay attention. 

The footsteps got steadily closer and Peter was able to hear the whimpers of the civilian they were holding hostage, probably at gunpoint. Finally, a group of four people walked out of the doorway, three gunmen and the hostage. One of the men was at the back of the group, standing away from the others. Peter grinned, they were making it too easy. 

“Who are you supposed to be? How about you get out of our way sweetheart, and we won’t hurt you too badly?” The man holding the hostage asked Thalia and Peter could see the way her eyes narrowed. There was no way they were getting out of there relatively unharmed, though he couldn’t say he minded too much.

“I doubt you’ll be worrying too much about who I am after I kick your ass,” she retorted. 

Peter took the opportunity to shoot a web at the man in the back, bringing him closer and wrapping him in a cocoon so he couldn’t scream and alert the others.

“Let us out of here or I’ll blow her brains out.” Peter couldn’t see the man’s face but he heard the whimpers of the civilian’s increase.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” she said. She tightened her stance and Peter could see little sparks of electricity gathering at her fists. “We can do this a couple of ways. The fast way, the slow way, or my favorite way. I’ll give you a hint, my favorite way ends with you on the ground. So take your pick because no matter what you’re going to wish had never been born.”

Before the gunmen could even react, Nico materialized in front of them and grabbed the hostage before disappearing again. There was a second where they were standing there in stunned silence and Peter took full advantage of it. He grabbed another one of them and slammed him into the wall, pinning him there.

Thalia had taken on the other man and blasted him with a bolt of lightning. Peter inhaled sharply as he saw the electricity make an impact but the man didn’t seem too injured. He narrowed his eyes, assessing the danger of Sparky’s power. It hadn’t _seemed_ subdued but a fully charged blast would’ve killed him. He would have to ask her how she dampened her powers. He tied the last man up and then made his way over to the two vigilantes. 

“We should probably get out of here, the cops are going to show up in the next minute,” he warned. “But I do want to talk to you.”

Thalia glanced at Nico for a moment before he nodded. Peter wasn’t surprised that he was choosing the mysterious, silent persona. “Meet us on the roof across the street.” She took a step closer to Nico and they disappeared into the shadows.

Peter glanced around to make sure he hadn’t missed anything when he caught sight of the alien tech. He quickly grabbed the two guns and stuck them in the Duat so he could give them to Tony later. He made it across the street just as the police showed up. The two vigilantes were standing in the middle of the roof, as far from the edge as possible. He thought they would have chosen somewhere they could have made a quick escape but with Nico’s powers, he doubted they were too worried about. 

“So do you two have names yet or should I keep calling you Sparky and Dementor?” he called. If they weren’t planning on telling him their identities because of their little bet, the least he could do was mess with them.

Thalia turned to him and he could see the visible annoyance on her face. He narrowed his eyes as he took in her tense frame. She was keeping her eyes on his face. He grinned as he remembered that she was afraid of heights. She scowled and stuck her hand out after a moment. “My name is Impulse. This is Wraith.”

Peter hummed, turning to face ‘Wraith’. “I’m assuming that you were the black blur I kept seeing.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Nico’s voice was also disguised using a modulator and Peter couldn’t hear any trace of amusement that would indicate he was lying. But Peter knew that Nico probably _was_ messing with him during his patrol. It was comforting because it meant he _wasn’t_ seeing things and therefore had no reason to bother Hestia.

“We should probably bounce before any special agents show up. Generally, the police force is pretty cool but there are always the few people who think we should be locked up on the Raft,” Peter warned them. He grinned impishly at them, even though they couldn’t see it. “I’ll see you guys back at the apartment.”

He pivoted and ran off the side of the building before swinging away. He laughed as he heard Thalia shout behind him. “Get back here you little-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y'all remember, during the epilogue of ASIB Nico and Thalia made a bet to see how long it would take Peter/Percy to figure out they were the new vigilantes without knowing that he knew before they did.
> 
> Peter should _really_ tell Hestia about those visions. If only he wasn't so stubborn then maybe he'd actually get some answers...
> 
> Let me know what you think
> 
> <3 voidfangirl


	8. Chapter 8

**Sophomore Year: Summer Break**

Peter gripped onto the armrest of the jet until his knuckles turned white. He had been ecstatic when Tony had invited him to go to Wakanda but it hadn’t registered that he would need to fly until Happy had taken him to the airstrip. He had almost backed out but the opportunity to see Shuri was worth the risk. They had been in the air for fifteen minutes and the sky outside was still clear. The lack of storm clouds or even a little bit of thunder put him on edge.

“You okay there bud?” Tony asked from his seat across the aisle. He had his computer open and seemed to be toying with some sort of schematic. 

Peter gave him a shaky smile. “Just peachy, Mr. Stark. Planes are just not my favorite.”

Tony seemed to visibly soften and he lowered his sunglasses to peer at him. “Toomes?” he asked.

Peter started; he hadn’t even remembered that he had been in a plane crash a few months ago. He decided to go with it. “Um, yeah. I’m kind of nervous about crashing. Plus all the sounds and smells make it kind of overwhelming.”

Tony hummed. “I should have realized. We’ll have to work on a pair of specialized headphones for next time.”

Peter lifted his head and grinned, his face visibly brighter. “You mean I get to come with you again.”

Tony huffed a laugh. “I mean it depends on how this one goes, but I doubt they’re going to ban you from the country. T’Challa has a sister who’s around your age and is supposed to be a scientific genius. This is going to be my first time meeting her too. I guess we both have first impressions to worry about.”

Peter stifled a laugh. He had already met the entire royal family. His grin slipped off his face and he bit his lip. He didn’t know whether he should tell them or not. On one hand, the more people that knew who he used to be meant that there was more of a chance of Tony finding out before he was ready. On the other hand, if he kept this from them then they might see it as a lack of trust on the gods’ side. That would cause unnecessary tension that Peter really didn’t want to deal with. He groaned and put his head in his hands. It was too early to think about politics. 

“Hey kid,” Tony called. Peter looked up and saw that there was badly concealed worry on his mentor’s face. He tried to smile but he had a feeling that it looked more like a grimace. Tony seemed to be thinking for a second before he said, “I heard about two new vigilantes in Queens. The report said that they were working with Spider-Man. Do you know anything about that?”

Peter blanched. That was the last thing he expected Tony to ask about. Obviously he couldn’t tell the truth and say that the two were actually his cousins because that would raise questions on how they got their powers. But it would be impossible to claim that he didn’t know about them at all. 

“Your silence is saying more than anything else,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow. “How about we try again? What do you know about the two new vigilantes in Queens?”

“Um, there’s two of them, a girl and a guy,” Peter started and winced at the look Tony was giving him. “They seem to be a duo. Her name is Impulse and he goes by Wraith. She can shoot concentrated bolts of electricity and he seems to have the ability to teleport or something.”

Tony looked skeptical. “And that’s all you know?”

“Yeah, we barely talked afterward. Just long enough for them to introduce themselves but then we had to leave before the police showed up.” Peter was praying that he wouldn’t look further into his story. 

It seemed the gods were listening for once because Tony hummed and let the conversation end. “You should get some sleep,” he advised. “I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

Peter tried to get comfortable in the seat and he somehow managed to fall into a light sleep, the engines becoming a faint background noise. 

***

Peter gazed down at the Golden City in wonder. He had forgotten how beautiful it was. Their jet landed in front of the palace and he followed Tony outside, still looking around. He started as Tony nudged him in the side and snapped back to attention. 

T’Challa and Shuri were waiting for them at the end of the runway. T’Challa smiled warmly and shook hands with Tony. “Tony, it’s good to see you again.”

“You as well.” He turned to Shuri. “Princess Shuri, it’s great to meet you. I’ve heard you’re quite the genius. You think an old man like me could understand any of it?”

Shuri grinned. “We’ll see if you can keep up colonizer.”

Tony put an arm around Peter, pushing him forward slightly. Peter felt his cheeks heating up at suddenly being the center of attention. “This is Peter. Peter, meet King T’Challa and Princess Shuri.”

Peter fumbled, unsure how to act around them. Should he play it cool or pretend like this was his first time meeting them? Probably the latter. “Um, your Majesties, it’s an honor to meet you.”

T’Challa chuckled. “No need to be so formal. T’Challa is fine.”

Peter nodded. “Of course, Mr. T’Challa, sir.” He turned to Shuri, grinning. “I like your accent. Where are you from?”

“Peter!” Tony exclaimed.

“I’m Liberian,” Shuri deadpanned, but Peter could tell she was struggling not to smile.

“Oh, my bad,” he whispered. “I like your accent. Where are you from?”

The two stared at each other for another second before Shuri’s face cracked and she started to laugh and he joined in.

“There’s two of them,” he heard T’Challa whisper in horror which set off another round of laughter. 

“I feel like I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life,” Tony said, looking at the two of them. 

“I’m taking him to my lab. We’ll see you later,” Shuri declared before dragging him off, not giving the two adults time to protest. 

They were snickering the entire way, drawing stares from passing guards. When they finally stopped Peter’s grin was stretching across his face at the sheer amount of technology in the lab by all of the technology. He turned to Shuri. “It’s nice to see you again, Princess.”

Shuri suddenly stopped and the smile on her face was replaced by confusion. “What do you mean ‘again’?”

Peter blanched at his slip up. How could he get out of this? He could pretend that it was just a mistake. But Shuri would easily see through that. There was nowhere to run and he couldn’t avoid her. He sighed. That left only one option. The truth. He grimaced and pulled down his bottom lip, exposing the tattoo there for a moment. “Surprise?”

She blinked but didn’t show any other reaction. “Percy?”

“Hi.”

“But, but you-” she cut herself off and waved her hand in his direction. 

“You just gestured to all of me.”

She started to circle him and Peter felt like he had just become the next scientific mystery for her to solve. “Is it some sort of face modifier? I heard SHIELD had a prototype of one a few years ago.”

He didn’t get a chance to respond as she dismissed the idea herself. “That doesn’t account for the change in height and body shape.” She lifted his arm and prodded it. Peter laughed and pulled his arm out of her grip. He shut his eyes and concentrated for a moment. He heard Shuri gasp and when he opened his eyes he was greeted by the princess actually looking shocked. She quickly snapped out of it and grabbed his face, examining it closely.

“How?” she demanded, finally stepping back.

“Magic,” Percy answered. Shuri looked unimpressed at his answer so he elaborated, “It was a gift from the gods so I could have some semblance of a normal life after the war.”

Shuri huffed, most likely because she knew there wouldn’t be a scientific explanation for her to find. Her face suddenly lit up and Percy felt a flash of fear. “Can I see your sword? After a tour of course.”

Percy sighed in relief and followed her as she went around the building and showed him all of the different things she was working on. His jaw kept dropping and every time he thought he had seen the coolest thing she had, she showed him her next project and he was amazed all over again. 

Once they had made it back into the main area he pulled out Riptide. He set it down on one of the workstations and they got to work analyzing it. Percy had never thought about figuring out the chemical properties of his sword, accepting that it was just one of those things that existed. They quickly fell into a rhythm and he didn’t notice as time passed. 

At some point he had taken his hoodie off, exposing the Camp Jupiter shirt that he had chosen to wear underneath it that day. Shuri had been distracted by his tattoos and they took a break from the sword as she examined his trident tattoo. She seemed determined to figure out how it linked to his weapon. He had named it Permafrost, or _Glacialis_ in Latin. 

They theorized that the different godly metals were somehow able to differentiate between mortals and demigods by some sort of genetic marker. Percy promised to get a few scraps of metal from the forges so they could run more isolated tests. 

A throat cleared from behind them and the two of them turned around to find T’Challa and Tony standing there. T’Challa looked extremely confused and Percy was about to ask him what was wrong when he caught a glimpse of his legionnaire tattoo from the corner of his eye. 

He scrambled up and gave a hasty bow. “You’re majesty, I apologize for my intrusion but-”

“I invited him here,” Shuri cut in. Percy shot her a grateful smile. She continued, “It was a few weeks ago and I forgot he was coming today.”

T’Challa looked skeptical and Percy internally winced at the damage control he was going to have to do after this. “Well, it is nice to have you here.”

Tony, who was silent up until then, finally spoke up and Percy wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or not. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Ah, where are my manners. Tony, this is Perseus Jackson,” T’Challa introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Stark.” Percy held out his hand and Tony shook it, glancing down at his forearm where his tattoo was exposed.

He seemed to do a scan of the room before furrowing his eyebrows. “Where’s Peter?”

Percy fumbled for an answer but Shuri saved him. “I sent him to get something from the other room. Percy, could you go get him?”

He nodded and practically ran out of the room, grabbing his hoodie on the way. Once he got into an empty room, he concentrated for a moment before he felt himself go back to normal. He shrugged on his hoodie, glancing down at himself to make sure he was ready before going back into the lab. 

Tony turned to look at him and Peter noticed the way he searched behind him. “Where’s the other kid?”

“Um,” he blanked for a second before he came up with the perfect answer. “His dad called or something. He said he was sorry, Mr. T’Challa, but it sounded pretty urgent so he wasn’t able to stay later.”

T’Challa narrowed his eyes but accepted the excuse. “That’s unfortunate, I hope everything is okay.”

Shuri, the most amazing person he’d ever known, deflected the attention away from him. “How about I show you around my lab? I’m the head of Wakanda’s Research and Development…” She herded him away and Tony followed with minimal complaining but he did shoot Peter a look when he opted to stay behind.

“As you and I both know that the hall you were supposedly looking for something in is a dead end, I wonder how Perseus left without passing through here again,” T’Challa murmured under his breath, still looking at Shuri.

Peter followed his lead and didn’t turn to look at him. “I’m sorry for the deception your Majesty, but it’s important to me that Tony doesn’t find out. We were never supposed to meet like this. My mortal life isn’t supposed to clash with,” he trailed off, unsure how to finish.

It seemed T’Challa understood what he was trying to say but he didn’t look particularly happy. Peter winced because Hestia was going to kill him for jeopardizing their alliance. “I don’t like being lied too. Even if it is a lie by omission.”

Peter pursed his lips. T’Challa noticed and raised an eyebrow at him. “You disagree?”

Peter took a deep breath and steeled his resolve. “It’s my personal life, your Majesty. I don’t share things easily and it wasn’t something you needed to know. I should have told you after I found out about this trip and I’ll take full responsibility for that but I don’t regret not telling during our first meeting.”

T’Challa looked at him appraisingly but he didn’t say anything as Tony and Shuri walked back over. Peter sighed in relief as he was saved but one glance at his mentor put him right back on edge. This was going to be a long trip.

***

Tony waited until the next day to approach T’Challa about the kid who had been in the lab. He had looked Perseus Jackson up as soon as he had made it back into his room and he didn’t particularly like the results. Based on his file with the CIA and FBI, he was a terrorist for all intents and purposes. God, this kid was only seventeen. A year older than Peter. The thought made his chest ache. He was reported missing and presumed dead after a series of sightings across Europe. Could he have been hiding in Wakanda this entire time? Why would T’Challa allow a terrorist free reign of the city? 

“_Wouldn’t be the first time_,” he thought bitterly. He was certain that Barnes was somewhere in the city. It irked him that he couldn’t do anything about it. “_You were the one who signed the Accords,_” the voice in his head whispered viciously. He rubbed his temples because the Accords were a whole other shit show that he didn’t want to spend more time thinking about than necessary. 

He focused back on the file in front of him of Jackson’s familial relations. His mom’s name was Sally Jackson but a quick hack into the IRS showed that she had gotten remarried to one ‘Paul Blofis’ after her first husband went missing. Which was just another concerning thing he would look into later. He didn’t have a father listed, meaning he was probably the result of a one night stand.

The name Blofis struck a chord in the part of his mind that was focused on his memories with Peter. It was a bit fuzzy, the majority of that day taken up by the crushing revelation of what happened at Homecoming, but Tony could clearly the little girl and her mother who had been in the apartment. Peter had called them _old family friends_. Hell, the little girl had literally called him her brother.

If that were true then it meant that Peter probably _knew_ this Jackson kid. Had probably grown up with him. That thought scared the hell out of him because he didn’t want Peter to have grown up with someone who was so obviously a bad influence. He sighed. He wasn’t going to get any answers by sitting there and overanalyzing it. 

T’Challa was doing some sort of kingly thing when Tony finally tracked him down. He let the guilt of bothering him fizzle for a minute before pushing it down. “T’Challa, just the man I wanted to talk to,” he said, throwing his arms out dramatically. 

“Tony, how can I help you? I hope you are finding your accommodations to your standard.”

“I actually had some questions about that kid who was in the lab yesterday,” Tony started with. If he wasn’t looking for it, he wouldn’t have noticed the way T’Challa’s shoulder’s tensed before relaxing. “Jackson, was it?”

T’Challa raised an unimpressed eyebrow. So he was going to play it like that. “How about you go ahead and ask you questions rather than jumping around?”

“Okay,” Tony acquiesced. If the King wanted him to ask questions, then who was he to deny him. “Why are you letting him here if he’s a terrorist? How long has he been in Wakanda? Has-”

“Tony,” T’Challa cut him off and Tony huffed in annoyance but let the man continue. “Oftentimes, the full story is not shown in documents and papers, just one side of it. I do not trust him completely but my sister trusts him so there is little I can do.”

“What? So you think he didn’t commit any of these crimes?”

“Oh, I’m sure he was involved in each of those instances but I doubt it was in the way you are thinking,” T’Challa answered, though it was more of a deflection than anything. “At the end of the day, he is a good kid. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have something to attend to. I will see you in the meeting later.”

T’Challa slipped past him before he could say anything, leaving Tony with a hell of a lot more questions than answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter of 2020! Happy New Year to everyone! Let me know what you think of this chapter.  
<3 voidfangirl


	9. Chapter 9

**Junior Year: First Semester**

“Ugh, it’s only been one week but I already want to kill myself,” Peter whined as he walked out of the school with Ned and MJ. 

“It’s like they want us to drop out,” Ned agreed.

“Quit complaining, losers,” MJ said, smacking the back of Peter’s head. 

“Hey! How come you didn’t hit Ned?” 

“You’re closer.” MJ grinned, completely unrepentant. It was a lie and they both knew it. “Besides, aren’t you going up to the compound this weekend with-”

“Hey guys,” Betty greeted, coming out of nowhere. “You wouldn’t happen to know the guy waiting in the parking lot outside?”

“Peter might, what does he look like?” Ned asked for him. 

“Blonde, tall, and hot.”

“Ha! Like Parker has any friends besides these two idiots,” Flash taunted, coming up behind them from where he was eavesdropping. Peter wondered if he was imagining the faint hint of fondness in Flash’s tone.

“Still two more friends than you Flash,” he responded absentmindedly, trying to push through the crowd that was forming around the school exit. He had a very good idea of who was waiting in the parking lot. He heard Flash let out an undignified squawk and didn’t bother to hide his smirk. 

He finally made it past the exit and was immediately blinded by the sun. Blinking the spots out of his vision, Jason was leaning against the hood of a car. He looked like he was searching for something and when he saw Peter, he pushed himself off the hood of the car and waved. Peter’s mouth went dry at the sight of his boyfriend looking like a complete dork, standing there grinning like Peter was the sun. He didn’t move until MJ pushed him forwards and he stumbled down the steps. It seemed like the gods had chosen that moment to laugh at him because he tripped on the last stair and he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the faceful of concrete-

Except he didn’t trip because someone caught him. And he didn’t even need to open his eyes to recognize their arms. He opened them anyways and was met by Jason’s face and, _of course_, there was a halo of light around him and his stupidly broad shoulders and handsome face. 

“Hi,” he said weakly.

“Hey, yourself.” Jason was grinning mischievously which was never a good sign. “I see you’re falling for me.”

He grinned back. “I think we’re way past that. Though you might have some competition. A moment sooner and I would have fallen for the concrete.”

Jason nodded sagely. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He looked down and started to glare at the sidewalk where Peter had almost fallen.

Peter laughed at him and grabbed him by the shirt collar, pulling him down for a quick kiss. When he pulled away, he whispered, “Don’t worry, the concrete doesn’t have anything on you.”

He turned to his friends. He felt a sense of satisfaction at the way Flash’s mouth was hanging open. “This is Jason, my boyfriend.”

“Yeah, we could tell,” MJ said wryly. Her mouth was twitching up which was about as much approval he could hope for. “Call me Michelle.”

“I’m Ned. I feel like I already know you because Peter talks about you so much,” Ned blurted out in his enthusiasm,

“Ned!” Peter hissed. He could already feel the heat rising in his face and felt the laugh reverberate in Jason’s chest.

“Oh, sorry. I mean, Peter’s mentioned you a few times,” Ned tried to recover smoothly. 

“I’m Betty. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out her hand which Jason shook.

“Flash,” Flash grumbled from the back of the group, reluctantly shaking Jason’s hand as well.

Jason raised an eyebrow. Peter had told him all about Flash, which had not painted him in the best light. Peter just shrugged. Flash hadn’t been too horrible so far and he was willing to give him another chance. 

“It was really nice to meet you all but Peter and I should go if we want to make it before it gets too late,” Jason said.

“Where are you going?” Flash asked suspiciously. 

“I live upstate so we don’t get to see each other often,” Jason lied, already having established a story with Peter. He didn’t need to give Flash another reason to think he was lying about the internship and a regular intern would never stay over much less be allowed to bring his boyfriend.

After promising to text Ned, the two got into the car that Jason had borrowed from one of their friends. The car ride was mostly silent except for the music that was loudly playing. About halfway through the trip, Jason got a mischievous grin on his face and pulled out an unmarked CD before sliding it in. There was a sudden crack of lightning and an upbeat track started playing. “_The gods are real_-”

Peter slammed the off button and turned to glare at Jason. “No.”

“Aw, come one, babe. Do it for me.” Jason turned to pout at him for a moment before being forced to face the road again. “I haven’t gotten the chance to listen to it yet.”

“It’s embarrassing.” Peter groaned and ran a hand down his face. “I can’t believe I agreed to let Chris and his friends record that after Joe wrote it.”

“I think it’s cute that he wrote a musical about your first quest,” Jason teased. 

Peter groaned again and hid his face in his hands. He waved a hand towards the radio. “Fine, listen to it. I’ll just be here. Slowly dying inside.”

“I’ll be sure to give an amazing eulogy,” Jason assured him before switching the music back on. 

“_I didn’t want to be a half-blood_,” Jason sang along. Peter let out a long sigh and resigned himself to another hour of torture. He burrowed into his hoodie and the rocking of the car and the music somehow lulled him into a light sleep.

Jason woke him up when they were ten minutes away and thankfully the music had been turned off. Peter flashed his ID at the gate and FRIDAY let them in. They had decided to go in the back way that led straight to the labs. Peter had gotten Pepper to send him a temporary badge for Jason which he made sure he had on before they entered the lab. 

Peter grinned at Jason’s astonished expression when they finally entered his lab, filled with different projects he was working on. “Come on, let me show you around.”

***

Peter faintly registered something crashing in Tony’s lab. It was enough that it took his attention away from the kisses that Jason was trailing down his neck. He focused and heard Tony quietly cursing as he picked up something that DUM-E had probably broken.

Peter’s eyes widened and he gently pushed Jason away from him. Well, gently by his standards. Jason went stumbling back and Peter was able to interpret the panic shining in his eyes. “What is it? Did I do something?”

He jumped off of the desk and started to smooth down his hair and clothes. “No, of course not, that was amazing and we will _definitely_ be picking that up later.”

“Then what is it?” Jason asked. He followed Peter’s lead and started to straighten himself up. 

“Mr. Stark is in his lab which means that he is probably heading this way,” Peter informed him. “He’s probably coming to try and embarrass me.”

“That would have been awkward if he had walked in.” 

Peter shuddered at the thought. “Yeah, no kidding. I would never be able to come back which would suck because I love my lab.”

“Are you sure that’s the only thing you love?” Jason was grinning like he knew something Peter didn’t.

“I guess the training room is pretty cool too.” Peter shrugged.

“So you wouldn’t miss game nights with Miss Potts or movie nights with Mr. Stark?” Jason teased.

Peter felt his cheeks warm up and he pouted. “I wouldn’t have told you about those if I knew you were going to tease me.”

Jason nudged him with his elbow. “Ah, lighten up. You know you would come back regardless if we were caught or not. Now, come on, show me something cool so it looks like we’ve been doing something.”

Peter grinned and led Jason over to the holo table. He pulled up the schematic for his latest side project, which was a pair of gauntlets for Thalia. “Okay, so these are for Thalia. They are going to help her conduct electricity into more controlled and precise blasts. I also improved the generator that provides a spark for her so she doesn’t have to call lightning down.”

Jason stared wide-eyed as Peter manipulated the hologram and explained each component to him. Peter got so into it that he forgot about Tony until the man came barging into the lab.

“Hey, Peter, have you seen...” he trailed off when he saw Jason standing next to him. “Who are you? You don’t look like Ted.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “It’s Ned, Mr. Stark. And this is Jason. He’s my friend from summer camp.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at that. Jason decided to step forward. “It’s nice to meet you, sir. Peter has told me all about you.”

“Uh-huh. That’s funny because he didn’t tell me anything about you.” Tony gestured for Peter to follow him. “Hey, Pete, can I talk to you for a second about the thing I came here to find?”

Peter swallowed and followed Tony out into the hallway, mouthing an apology to Jason as he went. Once they were safely outside, Tony turned and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Kid, we really need to have a talk about who you tell that you’re Spider-Man and invite over here. I mean, a kid that you know from summer camp, really?”

Peter crossed his arms defensively. “Jason and I have gone to the same camp since we were twelve, Mr. Stark.” So that was a lie, but it wasn’t like he could tell Mr. Stark the truth. “He’s not just some random kid that I told after knowing him for two months. Besides, he signed the NDAs that Pepper gave him so I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Pepper knows?” Tony asked incredulously. 

“Yeah, I asked her if I could bring over a friend a week ago while I was shadowing her and she said yes. I thought she told you,” Peter informed him.

“Yeah, but I thought you were bringing Ned,” Tony spluttered. 

“Look, Mr. Stark, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before but he’s here now, so I would really appreciate it if you tried to be nice and get to know him. He’s really important to me.” Peter decided to pull out all the stops and made a puppy-dog face. 

Tony glared at him when he realized what he was doing but Peter didn’t stop. He continued to pout, Tony trying to stare him down. After twenty seconds, he groaned and gave in. “Ugh, fine. He can eat dinner with us and I’ll actually engage in conversation. Are you happy now?”

Peter grinned unrepentantly. Tony shoved him backward gently. “Yeah, yeah. Go back to your friend.” Tony turned and started to walk back down the hallway before pausing mid-step. He called back, “Don’t think that I didn’t see the gauntlets that you had up. ‘I don’t know who the new heroes are’ my ass. We’ll talk about it later.”

Peter froze, knowing he had been caught. There was nothing he could do however, as Tony had already retreated into his lab. He walked back into the lab where Jason was standing awkwardly. 

“I don’t think he liked me.”

“Nah, he loved you,” Peter reassured. “He even invited you to eat dinner with him and Pepper tonight.”

“What?” Jason exclaimed. He gestured to his shirt. “I can’t meet Pepper Potts, I look like trash.”

“Babe, you look fine. Pepper is really chill.” Peter was holding back laughter at the son of Jupiter’s panic, completely ignoring the fact that he had had a similar reaction. 

Jason looked at Peter skeptically. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Now, do you want to see my room or not?” Peter asked, already dragging him out of the lab.

“Fine,” Jason agreed, drawing out the ‘i’. “You know, I think meeting Mr. Stark was more nerve-racking than meeting your _actual_ dad.”

Peter snorted but his ears were burning at the implication that Tony was like his dad. “Don't say that out loud or we might just get a hurricane tonight.”

***

“How do I look?” Jason asked, smoothing down his shirt for the fiftieth time.

Peter laughed at his boyfriend and Jason stopped messing with his shirt when he got closer. He smoothed the wrinkles on his shoulders out and adjusted the collar of his button-down slightly. “You look great.” He leaned in to give him a quick peck before grabbing his hand and leading him towards the dining room. 

Jason’s hand quickly got clammy within his own and he pulled away right before they entered to wipe it on his pants. Peter rolled his eyes, once again ignoring the fact that he had acted worse when he first Pepper two months ago. He walked into the room, shooting Pepper a smile from where she was serving dinner. She put the container of food down and embraced him in a quick hug before peering behind him. 

“Where’s your friend?”

Peter huffed out a laugh when he saw that Jason wasn’t behind him. He shot her a look, hoping it conveyed his mood of ‘what can you do’ and she smiled knowingly. He peeked his head out and found Jason still standing there. He tried to smile reassuringly before grabbing Jason’s arm and forcing him into the room. Jason looked betrayed as he stumbled to a stop and stood there awkwardly. “Hi,” he said and Peter had to fight a laugh at the way his voice cracked. 

Jason looked even more embarrassed and Peter could hear the way his heart was pounding. He decided to save him before he fainted or something equally dramatic. Really, it was times like these that Peter saw the resemblance to his father. “Pepper, this is Jason. Mr. Stark, you met him earlier.”

Jason stuck his hand out to shake and Peter felt bad about the amusement he got from his boyfriend’s awkwardness. Jason’s entire face went red when Pepper leaned in for a hug, like he was about to spontaneously combust. “It’s nice to meet you, Jason.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Miss Potts.”

The three of them sat down at the table where Tony was waiting. It seemed he noticed Jason’s enthusiasm to meet Pepper compared to the subdued meeting they had earlier. “Why has every teen I’ve met lately not cared about meeting me? Am I not interesting anymore?”

“My friend,” Jason shot a sidelong glance at Peter before continuing, “Piper, talks about you all the time, Miss Potts. Your accomplishments are really impressive.”

“Again, a literal superhero is right here,” Tony grumbled and both Peter and Pepper shot him a warning look which had Tony looking away.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “I didn’t realize you were talking to Piper again.”

“Um, yeah, I was hanging out with her and Leo,” Jason said, not meeting his eye. Peter stared at him for another moment before turning back towards Pepper and Tony, letting the matter drop for the moment.

“Jason moved here from San Francisco when he was younger. He lives up in Long Island,” Peter informed them. He didn’t like lying to them but it was the only alternative because he couldn’t tell them the truth. 

The conversation went smoothly from there, devolving into topics like school and other hobbies. After an hour, Peter managed to excuse the two of them, citing a movie marathon. It wasn’t a lie either. After they made it to his room, they both changed into more comfortable clothes to sleep in before Peter queued up A New Hope. 

“Okay, okay. Explain the order to me again,” Jason requested once they had finally settled onto his bed. 

Peter huffed and launched into a tirade about the episode order. He was halfway through explaining when he caught sight of the look on Jason’s face and dramatically pouted. “You’re so mean to me. Honestly, I prefer Star Trek but Ned likes Star Wars more so I still know a lot about it. I can’t believe you haven’t seen it though.”

“Well, there wasn’t much time to watch movies at Camp Jupiter.”

Peter scowled at the reminder that Jason barely had a childhood after Juno took him. Just another thing the gods never answered for. Jason must have seen the look on his face because he quickly turned the conversation away from Camp. It had become a point of contention between them recently. Jason still couldn’t see how flawed the gods were, or that he deserved a life outside of their wishes. Peter took a deep breath. He didn’t need to let this ruin one of the few times they could actually see each other. Iris Messages only went so far. 

Sometime during the Empire Strikes Back, Peter started to nod off. He kept trying to finish the movie but eventually gave up, burrowing into Jason’s side. He let the sounds of a space battle and the feel of Jason’s chest moving rhythmically under him lull him to sleep.

***

Peter woke up slowly the next morning. He had curled around Jason like an octopus sometime during the night and their legs were tangled together in the sheets. Jason seemed like a furnace with the way he was radiating heat. He was reluctant to get up but he really didn’t want to miss Pepper’s amazing pancakes. He carefully extracted himself from Jason’s arms and sat in bed for a moment, appreciating how peaceful Jason looked asleep. His hair was a mess but Peter thought it made him look adorable.

He had managed to swing his legs over the bed frame when a hand gripped his wrist. He twisted around and saw Jason still lying there, only one of his eyes open. “Morning,” he whispered, his voice still scratchy. 

Jason sat up and stretched, and Peter’s mouth went dry at the way his muscles flexed. He quickly got up and made his way into the bathroom before he accidentally got back into the bed. By the time he got out, Jason was already changed into a Camp Jupiter shirt and a pair of jeans. 

Jason looked up and noticed Peter staring at his shirt. “Oh, yeah I figured it was fine because they don’t know about Camp.”

Peter grimaced. “Tony might have caught me wearing it when we were in Wakanda a few weeks ago.” Jason looked confused so he elaborated, “I may not have looked exactly like I do now.”

“And he would be suspicious if he saw me wearing it,” Jason concluded. Peter nodded sheepishly and he sighed before pulling off his shirt. “I didn’t pack an extra shirt...”

Peter didn’t respond, swallowing roughly at the sight of Jason shirtless. It was hardly the first time, training made that inevitable, but something about the setting made it seem different… more intimate. Jason was there, standing in Peter’s room, in front of his bed shirtless and really it wasn’t his fault what he did next. 

Peter crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck. “I think you look much better without a shirt.”

“Mmh, I don’t think Stark would appreciate me walking around shirtless,” Jason mumbled through the kiss.

“Mention Tony again and you won’t be getting kisses for a month,” Peter muttered, taking advantage of his super strength to walk Jason towards the bed, not that he would ever admit it. 

Jason thankfully shut up and Peter somehow ended up straddling his waist as they sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled away from his mouth and started to trail kisses up Peter’s neck, causing him to wind his hands through Jason’s hair. 

Peter seemed to forget everything as Jason kissed him, all of his senses honed in on the feel of Jason’s skin under his. He could feel the way his muscles were corded on his arms. His hair was surprisingly soft and he wondered if he was imagining the ozone building in the air. The only thing he could hear was the blood roaring in his ears and Jason’s pulse thrumming steadily underneath his fingertips. 

He was so caught up in everything that was so intrinsically _Jason_ that he didn’t hear the footsteps coming down the hall. Nor did he hear the door of his room click open. He did, however, hear as the door banged open. The world seemed to move in slow motion as he looked up and saw Tony standing in the doorway, horror etched into his face. 

He could feel the panic rising in him and he pushed himself off of Jason as quickly as possible but the damage was done. Tony slammed the door shut. Peter was left gaping at the closed door and the panic faded slightly to make way for the absolute embarrassment. There was a moment of silence before Tony spoke, voice strained and muffled from the other side. “Breakfast is ready.” His heartbeat faded down the hall, presumably to the kitchen. 

“I’m going to die,” Jason whispered. “Iron Man is going to kill me.” 

Peter snorted at how melodramatic his boyfriend before assessing his words. It wasn’t completely unlikely that Tony would kill him. He grabbed a random shirt from his drawer and threw it at Jason. “Maybe.” 

“You aren’t helping,” Jason hissed, shrugging on the shirt. It was tight around the shoulders but overall it didn’t look horrible. Plus, he was kind of in love with seeing Jason in his clothes. 

“If I focus on your fear it’ll make me forget my own embarrassment which I am trying desperately to do.” 

Peter walked into the kitchen in silence, Jason trailing after him. Tony was making a mug of coffee and pointedly not looking at him. Pepper seemed to be filled in on the situation and was looking at the two of them with amusement more than anything else. The two of them quietly sat down at the table and Tony sat in front of him, finally looking at him. He caught sight of the science pun on Jason’s shirt and glared because he had been the one to buy it for Peter. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then glared into his coffee. He repeated the process a total of six times before shutting his mouth.

“So how long have you two been dating?” Pepper asked, ever the mediator. Peter shot her a betrayed look.

Tony groaned and ran a hand down his face. “Can we please not talk about this?”

Pepper laughed, seemingly enjoying their discomfort. “Don’t act like a child, Tony. From what I can remember, your teenage days were much worse.”

Tony grumbled and still refused to make eye contact. “I’m not acting.” Pepper didn’t react so Peter assumed that he was the only one who heard it. 

A warm hand covered his own underneath the table and he looked over at Jason. A smile covered his face, softening his features. He turned to look at Pepper, who seemed completely encouraging and was waiting patiently for him to answer. Even Mr. Stark had taken to peeking at him from the rim of his coffee mug. “Um, we first talked about going on a date in January, I think? Our actual first date was March. So almost five months by this point.”

Pepper raised an eyebrow and turned to Jason. “I’m sorry we haven’t met properly before this.”

Peter thought the way Jason flushed under her gaze was adorable. The tips of his ears turned red and he went up to rub at the back of his neck. “Uh yeah, me too. But I spent most of the summer in San Francisco so Peter and I didn’t really get the chance to see each other.”

“I thought you moved from there. You have family out there?” Tony asked, finally contributing more than just grunts or sarcastic comments to the conversation. Peter didn’t like the gleam in his eye. It reminded him of any of the Hephaestus kids finding something new that they could pick apart.

“Um, more like really close friends,” Jason answered, throwing a panicked look Peter’s way. They hadn’t prepared nearly enough. They had just figured they would be left to their own devices. It was just his luck that Tony would choose now to start doing background checks on his friends. Though it probably had to do the fact that Jason was his boyfriend, not his friend.

“Alright, can we stop with the interrogation?” Peter pleaded though Tony had barely even asked anything. Tony looked like he was about to ignore him and jump into another question when Pepper took pity on him and moved the conversation to a different topic.

He squeezed Jason’s hand for comfort and was able to lose himself in the mindless chatter of Tony and Pepper bickering. It almost seemed too perfect to him, his mentors bickering on one side of the table while he was sitting next to his boyfriend and enjoying breakfast. He had never been this lucky before and something in him was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. He would enjoy it for the moment though because he knew better than anyone how quickly something could be gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo this might technically be late but only by a day so I'm happy about that. I literally could not physically stop myself from adding in a Lightning Theif Musical reference. If you aren't familiar with it, I totally suggest checking it out. The sheer embarrassment I got to write at the end of the chapter are literally one of my favorite things about being a writer.  
Let me know what you think :)
> 
> <3 voidfangirl


	10. Chapter 10

**Junior Year: First Semester**

Blood roared in his ears, for once drowning out every other sound as Peter swung through the New York City streets. That didn’t stop any of his other senses from going into overdrive. With each step, the gravel dug into his feet through his suit for a millisecond before he was moving. He could practically taste the pollution in the air, causing his breaths to come in short, uneven pants. Every so often, his eyes would catch onto the warp of black he had grown accustomed to during his patrols. There was some comfort in the fact that his cousins wouldn’t be able to catch up with him. 

The twist of black appeared right in front of him and Peter didn’t have enough time to stop before he was crashing into Nico and Thalia. “_Spoke too soon._”

He collided harshly with the rough concrete of the building, the suit pulling painfully over his skin. The ADHD part of his mind compared it to sliding down an inflatable slide. There was a painful tug in his gut and the water tower tucked away in the corner of the roof shook violently. 

He pushed himself off of the floor roughly and turned to face his cousins. If he cared enough at that moment, he would have paid more attention to the anger on Thalia’s face or the barely concealed worry on Nico’s. He didn’t care though so he was callous with his words. “What the hell? Are you trying to get me killed?”

Thalia scoffed and her face flushed red in what he assumed was anger. “Oh, we’re going to kill _you_? What the hell are you on, Jackson? You burst into the apartment, tell us we’re going patrolling and proceed to rush into every dangerous situation you can find. If you’re going to do this, you have to make sure your head is actually attached to your shoulders, not stuck in some fantasy where you’re sucking Jason’s face.”

Peter’s ears popped and the water tower exploded, thousands of gallons of water rushing forward. Some part of his mind told him he should feel guilty, that he needed to pull it back before anyone else got hurt but at that moment he was too angry to care. There was a flash of black and when the water settled his cousins were nowhere to be found. He whirled around to see Thalia and Nico were standing on the next rooftop, completely dry. The sight made his mouth twist in a wolf-like snarl. 

“So that’s how it’s going to be.” Thalia raised her arms in retaliation. There was the tell-tale crackle of electricity and his head screamed at him to duck. He hit the ground, rolling into a somersault before launching off of the building. 

He knew he wasn’t thinking straight, that he would regret fighting his cousin later but at the moment her words were too fresh, too painful. It was almost like he could _feel_ the flight-or-fight response getting triggered, and he had never been the type to run away. 

He tackled Thalia to the ground to separate her from Nico. They had become too dependent on each other and without him, she wouldn’t be able to get off of the roof safely. He landed on top of her and grabbed the dagger she had strapped around her waist before rolling off and getting back up. 

Thalia groaned and pushed herself off of the ground. When she saw her dagger in his hands she glared at him before trying to charge her gauntlets for another strike. Peter was faster though and shot a web at both of her hands. He grinned maniacally from underneath the mask. “You’ll find that these spiderwebs make _great_ insulators.”

His cousin actually growled at him, the noise subvocal as the electricity refused to spark. “I can still kick your ass the old-fashioned way.” She pulled her spear out and expanded it from its condensed form before leveling it at him. 

“Aw, come on, bringing a spear to a knife fight? Totally not cool. Guess I’m just going to have to _even the odds_!” He lunged at her but she narrowly sidestepped and the momentum carried him past her. There was a sharp tug in his gut and he felt more than saw an ice dagger forming in his hand. 

His Spidey-Sense screamed at him and he whirled around in time to see Thalia’s spear coming down on his head. He put his arm up, deflecting the blow so it glanced over his head rather than hitting it straight on and managing to cut a gash along her forearm. Some part of his mind recognized that when this was over, he'd have to be the one to fix her gauntlets which were completely trashed. 

The attack meant that he was in the perfect position to swipe his other hand toward her face, the dagger cutting a thin line on her cheek. He elbowed her in the chest and she stumbled backward toward the edge of the building. The small glance behind her was enough of a distraction for him to take the spear out of her hands and web it to the opposite wall. 

Peter fell to his knees, swiping her leg out and causing her to fall onto her back. Her head was dangling off of the edge of the building but he didn’t really notice, too caught up in the maelstrom of emotions and the adrenaline of the fight. He put the dagger to Thalia’s neck, not intending to hurt her but trying to get her to stand down. “It’s over. You lost.”

She sneered at him. “You may have webbed my gauntlets but they don’t call me the daughter of Zeus for nothing.”

Peter stiffened, suddenly aware of the dark storm clouds that had rolled in while they were fighting. He felt like an idiot for not recognizing the smell of ozone or the pressure building in the air. He had been feeling a small ringing in the base of his skull since they had started fighting but dismissed it as adrenaline. His head _wailed_ and there was a bright flash of light, the electricity jumping across his skin, burning him from the inside out. _This_ was true lightning, so much stronger than what her gauntlets produced. The thunderclap that followed felt like it had been directly next to his ear and it reverberated throughout his body.

The blast blew him back to the other side of the building and he crashed against the ground roughly. It felt like he blacked out for a moment because when he opened his eyes, his ears were ringing and he couldn’t open his eyes. The bright white of the lightning was still imprinted over his eyes and with his sense dialed up to eleven it felt like a spotlight being shined directly into his pupil. For an hour. On the brightest setting.

Thank the gods for advanced healing because Peter was able to quickly blink the spots out of his vision even if it was still a little blurry. He stumbled to his feet and eyed his cousin warily but even she seemed a bit dazed from the force of the attack. He was trying to assess his options when Nico appeared in between them, sword out. “_Great, now I have to fight both of them._”

Nico lifted his sword and plunged it into the building. A shockwave of pure energy rippled outward and slammed him into the building _again_. He groaned as his vision blurred and there was a sharp stab of pain in his shoulder. Enhanced healing or not, he was going to be feeling this for the next week. He heard Thalia struggling to get up on the other side of the building. Wait, that couldn’t be right. Why would Nico aim his sword towards both of them if he was on her side? He slowly sat up, the simple movement causing his head to swim. Once the dizziness passed, he pushed himself off of the ground, gritting his teeth against the pain. He stumbled a bit but managed to brace himself against the doors that led to the rest of the building.

“Stand down,” Nico warned and Thalia glared but didn’t make a move to attack. Peter’s skull was still buzzing so he kept his guard up. “You’re both acting like idiots.”

“He was the one who was being reckless and was going to get one of us hurt,” Thalia accused. 

“And rather than ask him why he was upset like a rational adult, you got angry and attacked him,” Nico shot back, completely unfazed by her reasoning. 

“He tried to drown us!”

“He lost control of his powers and you didn’t have to retaliate,” Nico said calmly.

The ringing in his head increased and it looked like Thalia was gearing up for another fight. Something told Peter that she understood but her pride wouldn’t let her apologize. He sighed. “Stop,” he said loudly. His cousins turned to look at him, Thalia looked ready to blast him with lightning and Nico seemed more curious about how he was going to react. “Wraith is right. I was- still am- upset and I let that take over. I shouldn’t have put your lives in danger. I’m… sorry,” he finished lamely. 

Thalia took a deep breath and her shoulders sagged, leaving her looking tired. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have gotten angry and attacked you. We aren’t kids who can fight every time we have some small disagreement anymore. There’s more at stake now.”

They stood there awkwardly for a few moments, unsure of how to move on. Finally, Thalia huffed and crossed her arms. “What? You aren’t expecting me to give you a hug, are you?”

Peter and Nico burst out laughing with Thalia joining a moment later. It wasn’t even that funny but they all needed the laugh. Of course, it couldn’t last though. 

“What’s up with you?” Nico asked, immediately causing Peter to stop laughing as he remembered why he was so upset in the first place. 

He bit his lip, trying to weigh the pros and cons of telling them before a little voice that sounded suspiciously like Annabeth told him to stop being a Seaweed Brain and just tell them now before they found out from someone else. “Jason and I had a really big fight.”

Thalia raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?” The response caused Peter to flinch. He knew that his cousin didn’t understand romantic relationships, finding them less important than the friendships and bonds you forged through quests and battles. Still, it hurt and it seemed like Nico knew this by the way he elbowed her before trying to comfort him. 

“I’m sure you guys will get through this,” he tried to reassure. 

Peter wrapped his arms around himself and stared resolutely at his feet. His throat suddenly seemed tight and his eyes were stinging under the mask. “No, I don’t think we can.”

Nico let out a small “oh” while Thalia just looked pissed. “That’s bullshit. You need to go talk to him before you just give up.”

Peter sighed. He really didn’t want to but… “Yeah, I know. I’ll head over to camp now. I just need to call Argus.”

“If I may, Peter. I believe that there is something you need to take care of before that,” Karen’s voice suddenly buzzed to life, causing him to jump. Sometimes his AI was so quiet that he almost forgot she was there. “It seems like someone took a video of your fight with the vigilante codenamed Impulse and posted it to Twitter. The video is already viral, with #ProtectSpidey trending in the top five on a number of sites. Multiple people are calling for Impulse to be arrested.”

Peter took ten seconds to process that before he very succinctly summarized the situation. “Shit.”

Thalia raised her eyebrow. “That could literally mean a thousand things so you’re going to have to be more specific.”

He quickly reiterated the information that Karen just told him. When he was done. Thalia’s eyes were wide and she seemed slightly panicked. “Shit.”

He tried to think of a solution. It took him a minute but when he finally settled on something, he calmed down.“I can fix this. I just need to make a phone call. A very uncomfortable phone call. Just go home and I’ll be there later tonight. I still need to go back to camp and… talk to Jason.”

Thalia looked like she was about to protest but Nico nodded and took them away before she could say anything. Peter watched the spot for a moment before groaning and running a hand down his face. He shot a quick text to Argus, who promised to be there in an hour. Trying to mentally prepare himself (and procrastinate) for the phone call he was about to make, he swung to the tallest building around so no one would be able to look down and see him. He winced as the movement pulled at his already sore muscles and he almost slipped as his shoulder ignited with a sharp burn of pain. 

Once he was lying down on the cold building, he took a deep breath before deciding to get it over with. “Karen, call Tony.”

The phone only rang twice before the call connected. 

“Kid, are you okay?” Tony’s voice was surprisingly clear even if it sounded worried. Peter didn’t know why he was surprised, of course, Tony wouldn’t design something that had a bad comm system.

“So you’ve seen the video?” He could hope after all.

“Seen the video? Kid, everyone and their mom have seen the video at this point. You broke the internet. So I’m going to ask again: are you okay?”

Peter took a moment to celebrate the fact that he had broken the internet when another twinge of pain shot through his shoulder and he hissed. “Just peachy, Mr. Stark,” he said through the pain. “Nothing some ambrosia and nectar won’t fix.”

“Ambrosia and nectar?” Tony repeated. Peter cursed at his slip up. He scrambled to find an excuse.

“Blue chocolate chip cookies and coke, the food of the gods.” Peter laughed nervously but thankfully Tony didn’t seem to notice and dropped the subject. Unfortunately, he went straight to another uncomfortable topic.

“We’re going to stop avoiding that talk on the new vigilantes. I thought they were your friends or at least allies?” Tony asked

Peter winced but this time it had nothing to do with the pain. “They are! It was all just a really big misunderstanding that Wraith helped us clear up and now we are all good.”

“But?”

“But I really don’t want Impulse getting arrested because people think she attacked me and I don’t know what to do,” Peter admitted.

“Well, why did she attack you?” Tony asked.

“I was upset and taking it out on them by acting like a douche and she got justifiably angry.”

“That doesn’t sound like you,” Tony said and the worry was clearly present again but there was anger there too. Peter didn’t want to think about who it was directed at.

“I was having an off day,” he weakly defended. Tony sighed and guilt formed in Peter’s chest because why was he trying to pass this off to Tony when it was clearly his fault and he needed to deal with the consequences. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called. I’ll take care-”

“Peter,” Tony cut him off. His tone was firm when he spoke, “I’ll schedule a press conference and make up a reason that at least places her behavior in a better light. It’s still illegal for you all to be doing this under the current Accords but I’m working on that. It should at least help with public opinion and in a couple of weeks it will all blow over when they find something new to gossip about.”

Peter could almost feel the weight off of his shoulders, “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

Tony’s voice was undoubtedly fond when he said, “no problem,” and hung up.

***

The car ride to Camp, unfortunately, gave him plenty of time to gather his thoughts. He was staring blankly out of the window, trying not to think but his mind kept going back to the catalyst of everything.

_“Camp is always going to be a part of my life!” Jason yelled at him._

_“You don’t have to do whatever the gods say!” Percy screamed back in the privacy of the Zeus Cabin. It was, admittedly, not the best place to be doing this but he couldn’t find it in himself to care._

_It was the tenth time they had had this argument. In the end, it always boiled down to two simple facts. One: Jason didn’t want to leave Camp. And two: Percy already had. _

_“We used to be your family, Percy. What happened to that?” Jason asked. It was different this time. This time, they both had tears in their eyes. This time, Percy was desperately trying to find some way to end this without either of them getting hurt but he couldn’t see one. This time, Percy was tired. What was the definition of insanity again? Doing something over and over again but expecting a different result? At what point did they qualify as insane? How many times did they have to go through this song and dance before something broke?_

_“I grew up,” he responded coldly, leaving Jason looking like he’d been slapped. “I realized that I could actually have a life outside of doing whatever they wanted.”_

_“I’m not going to leave Camp, Percy,” Jason said quietly, but somehow that made his resolve all the more clear._

_“Then don’t,” he said plainly. Jason started to smile, probably thinking that they were starting to reach some sort of compromise, that he had gotten through to him. Percy just felt cold inside, like all of his emotions had been numbed. He had a feeling that when they thawed they were going to_ burn. _“But don’t expect me to follow you back.”_

_He turned and marched out of the cabin, refusing to look at Jason’s reaction because he was a coward. It didn’t stop the tears spilling from his eyes, or the ache in his chest that he wasn’t sure was going to go away._

Peter wiped at his eyes, there was no need to cry about it again. He had somehow managed to get lost in the memory for the better part of an hour and Argus was pulling up to Half-Blood Hill. He thanked him and got off, Argus driving off to store the van wherever it went when someone wasn’t using it. He didn’t bother changing, preferring to walk through Camp unnoticed as Peter.

He found Jason in the training arena because of course, they both had similar trains of thought when it came to relieving stress. They walked in silence until they ended up by the beach and took a seat at the edge of the dock. Neither of them looked at each other, staring at the sky instead. 

“So?” Peter asked softly, unsure where to begin. Some small part of him hoped that in the past few hours Jason had come up with a miracle solution that would fix all of their problems.

“I’m never going to leave Camp permanently,” Jason said, sounding regretful but determined. Something told Peter that it wasn’t staying at Camp that he regretted. 

“And I’m never going to stay permanently.” He frowned, suddenly angry. “Don’t we deserve to be happy? After everything we’ve been through?”

“Percy,” Jason whispered. 

Peter hated that he could see the heartbreak written across the son of Jupiter’s face. “It’s Peter,” he said harshly. Because right then it _was_ Peter. There was a very distinct difference between Peter Parker and Percy Jackson even though they were both him in the end. And at that moment he was feeling more like Peter than Percy. 

“Exactly!” Jason said like it proved some point. “You’ve moved on and I’m so happy that you’ve finally gotten the peace you deserve. But this isn’t something we’re ever going to agree on. And if we stay together we’re just going to end up resenting each other.”

“I hate when you make a logical point,” Peter grumbled even though he _knew_ that Jason was right. He sighed. “Could- could you just hold me for tonight then? I don’t our last memory of us being this fight.”

“Of course,” Jason murmured and put his arm around Peter’s shoulders. He leaned into his touch letting it comfort him one more time as the sun went down over the Long Island Sound. 

***

_“The vigilante with the codename Impulse approached us here at Stark Industries yesterday in order to explain the altercation that occurred. Spiderman was with her and confirmed that Impulse had been exposed to lightwaves that triggered the fight or flight response in her amygdala. Thanks to the efforts of Wraith and…”_ Tony’s own voice droned at him from the screen where he was displaying news coverage on the press conference. Overall, it had been a pretty big success. And public opinion had turned positive in the hours after the press conference. 

But Tony wasn’t focusing on that now, instead, he was playing the Baby Monitor footage from the fight, only feeling slightly guilty. He had first looked at the footage as a means to understand what had happened but now he had a puzzle to figure out. 

“Play it again, FRI,” he ordered. 

There was a slight hesitation before the clip started to play again. 

Thirty seconds in and the water tank exploded, covering Peter in water while the other two vigilantes escaped. That was the first strange thing that had happened because there wasn’t a reason for the tank to explode. It almost seemed like the girl, Impulse, blamed Peter for the explosion even though he hadn’t done anything. 

The clip continued and the way Peter moved when he attacked Impulse was almost… vicious. That was a word he’d never think he’d use when describing Peter because the kid was literally a puppy dog. This was the second thing because Peter shouldn’t have known how to use the knife with such accuracy if it was his first time. 

It was the conversation afterward that confused him the most. Impulse had accused Peter of trying to drown them and Wraith had said that he had lost control of his powers. And Peter… he hadn’t denied it. It didn’t make sense to Tony because that implied the kid had more than he was letting on. In fact, it made it seem like he had a totally different set of powers that revolved around water. And that he had known these two kids for a lot longer than Tony was comfortable with. But that was impossible because Peter only got his powers last year. “_Unless he didn’t. And he’s been lying to you,_” the part of his mind that wanted to ruin everything whispered and Tony shoved the thought into a box and pushed it to the darkest corner of his mind.

The fallout from the aftermath left him feeling proud of the way Peter had handled his mistakes and talked it through with the two of them still leaving as friends. And if the scene bitterly reminded him of the harsh Siberian cold, where he _didn’t_ talk things out then that was no one’s business but his own.

When the clip finished playing, Tony sighed and dragged a hand tiredly down his face. He hated feeling like this. One of the only bright spots in his life and he was still looking for a way to tear it apart. But still, looking at this clip… “Kid, just what the hell aren’t you telling me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so don't kill me, please. I know a lot of you are probably going to be upset but I've planned their breakup since the very beginning. I just really like making Peter/Percy suffer. It's going to get better though! Maybe...  
Let me know what you think  
<3 voidfangirl


	11. Chapter 11

**Junior Year: First Semester**

“What did you do?” Peter hissed into his phone. He could hear the AcaDec team from around the corner, still chattering excitedly about their prize for winning the competition.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tony drawled from the other side of the phone. “It’s not like I have the ability to hack into your school, find the next meet, and offer them a tour prize of the compound.”

Peter groaned and ran a hand down his face. “This is why I never invite you to things.”

“And this is my revenge,” Tony stated, way too cheerful for how horrible of a situation this was. Peter could perfectly imagine the smug smile on his face. “How am I supposed to see how my Spider-Kid is doing if he never invites me to his competitions?”

Peter could feel the heat rising to his cheeks at the implication that he was Tony’s kid. _He wished_… he shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Mr. Stark, the only dad-like thing about you is your unending need to eternally embarrass and torment me.”

Tony laughed before there was a small commotion. Peter could make out the sound of something crashing and Tony started to curse, his voice getting softer as he moved away from the phone. He waited impatiently for a minute before the phone was picked up again. “Sorry ‘bout that Underoos, DUM-E broke something, _again_. I swear one of these days I’m going to sell him to a community college. What were we talking about again? Oh right, my brilliant idea for you and your little friends to take a tour of the compound.”

“What if they learn I’m Spider-Man? What if we go and someone attacks the compound and one of them dies? What if-”

Tony cut him off before Peter could spiral deeper. “Kid, no one’s going to die. And if they find out you’re Spider-Man then we will give them so many NDAs they won’t be able to say anything.”

“NDAs?” Peter scoffed incredulously. “Mr. Stark, no offense, but that’s not going to stop a group of teenagers from gossiping.”

“If they don’t want to work at McDonald’s for the rest of their life then they won’t. Besides, think of this as the perfect opportunity to mess with your teacher. We’ll work out all the details beforehand.”

A grin slowly started to spread across his face. It _had_ been a long time since he had pranked someone. And if he could control everything that happened on the field trip then he could minimize the chances of something going wrong. “Okay, Mr. Stark, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

***

Peter got onto the bus with only a small amount of trepidation. He and Pepper had planned this out. He knew everything that was going to happen on the field trip. He had no reason to worry. So why were his palms sweating and his heart racing? He dug his nails into the palm of his hand to ground himself and took a deep breath. He sat down next to Ned towards the middle of the bus. MJ was in the seat in front of them, a book already out. Unfortunately, Flash took the seat across the aisle. He didn’t say anything though, just glared at Peter before sitting down and pulling out his phone. 

The compound was only an hour away and Peter managed to get through fifty minutes of the ride before Flash finally opened his mouth. “You know what I’m most excited about, Parker?”

“Thankfully, I’m not a mind-reader so I actually don’t know what type of things go through your head, Flash,” Peter retorted. Ned stifled a snicker and discreetly held out a hand for a fist bump that Peter gladly returned. 

Flash’s mouth curled into a sneer but he otherwise ignored the insult. “No, I’m excited for your lie to be exposed.”

“And what lie is that?” Peter asked, feigning disinterest because he knew it would make Flash mad.

He was right because Flash started to glare at him again. “You know exactly what lie. There’s no way you’re Tony Stark’s personal intern. He probably doesn’t even know you exist.”

Peter sighed. “Trust me, my life would be a _lot_ simpler if he didn’t know I existed.”

Flash opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the bus grinding to a halt. Peter could make out the gears passing roughly over one another, a weird juxtaposition to the near-silent tech that he was used to working with.

It was quiet on the bus for a moment as the team took in the compound. Peter couldn’t blame them for their awed silence; he wasn’t any better when he first saw it. Like something out of a sitcom, they all started talking at once and his head swam with the sudden noise. Once they were out of the bus, they congregated in a small bunch near the front doors before heading inside. 

Peter laughed internally at the faces of his teammates who were staring around the lobby, even more impressed than they were with the exterior of the building. He wondered if their brains would explode when they saw the R&D labs. 

Two women seemed to have been waiting on them in the lobby because as soon as their club was inside they started walking over. Peter recognized Katherine as an intern from the PR department. He couldn’t help the grin that slid onto his face once he realized that the other woman was Shuri, though she had altered her features a bit so she could stay undercover. Everything was going according to plan. 

“Hello, Midtown! My name is Katherine Howard and this is Khadijah Quinn. We’ll be your tour guides today,” Katherine chirped excitedly, gesturing to Shuri who waved but otherwise didn’t say anything. “I am so happy that you all could come today. As the first high school participating in our new tour program, we can’t wait to see how you find everything. Before we start, I’m going to hand each of you a badge that you can keep. Make sure these are on you at all times or you’ll be asked to leave the premises.”

She took out a set of lanyards with a plain white keycard attached. _‘Level 1’_ was embossed in black on one side while the other side held the Stark Industries logo. 

“One of my students didn’t receive one,” Mr. Harrington pointed out, gesturing to Peter.

Katherine looked at him strangely, brows furrowed despite the smile never leaving her face. “Peter already has an ID. We have a strict no reprinting policy so he’ll just be using his own.”

Peter blinked when the team seemed to be possessed by some sort of demon or hive mind and turned to face him at the same time. He waved awkwardly, causing Flash to snort and turn away, seemingly breaking the trance on everyone else.

“What do the different colors and levels represent?” Betty asked, turning Katherine’s attention away from the teacher.

“Oh, the colors are just about preference,” Katherine informed them, showing off her own magenta pink lanyard. “The levels represent your station. Level one is generally reserved for reporters and now tours. Levels two through four are for interns. Levels five through seven are for employees and change depending on your status. Level eight is used for the heads of the department. Level nine used to be reserved for Avengers but since they disbanded it’s used for visiting government officials. Finally, level ten is used by our head of Security, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Tony Stark, and a few others.” Katherine clapped her hands together and directed them to the scanner. 

“As you go through the scanner, you’ll hear a voice call out your name and clearance level. That’s FRED, the compound’s AI responsible for detecting employees moving through and entering the building,” Shuri finally spoke up. Peter had to do a double-take because she had adopted an American accent that was throwing him off. 

His friends and teacher moved through the scanner and FRED announced their names and security level, just like Shuri had said. Peter had hung out in the back until he was the last one in. As he moved through the scanner, FRIDAY’s voice rang through the speaker. “Peter Parker, personal intern, level ten, all access. Welcome back, Peter. I’ll inform Boss of your arrival.” This time everyone turned to stare at him again and Peter fought back the stupid blush that had already spread down his neck. 

“Thanks, FRIDAY.”

“Why did Peter have a different voice?” Cindy asked but was ignored. Behind her, Flash’s face was flushed and it looked like he had just bit down on a lemon. MJ looked completely unaffected, but Peter wouldn’t be surprised if she had an excellent poker face. 

“Did it say level ten?” Mr. Harrington asked, looking decidedly pale. 

“Peter is the Starks’ personal intern, a job that requires access to most parts of the building,” Shuri informed his teacher and Peter was easily able to make out the smug smile on her face as she cocked an eyebrow at the man. “But as Peter’s teacher, you would have already known this, yeah?”

Mr. Harrington tried to stammer through a response before Katherine took pity on him. She clapped her hands together and started to herd them towards the elevator. “Okay, now that we’re all through, our first stop is going to go through the PR department.”

The group shuffled into the elevator and Peter somehow ended up in the middle. When the doors slid shut, he tightened his fists and dug his nails into his palm. The pain grounded him as the small ding reminded him of the Doors of Death in the Pit. If he had the option, they would have taken the stairs but the PR wing was on the third floor on the other side of the compound. 

They dutifully followed Katherine and Shuri through the building but Peter could tell that it was going to take a while to get there as his teammates kept asking questions, causing them to stop as the answer was explained. Peter hung towards the back of the group, already knowing everything Katherine and Shuri said and itched to do something.

Betty had just asked a question about the design of the building when MJ grabbed his arm. He looked at her quizzically and she tugged him further back so they were standing a couple of feet away but still close to the group.

“Katherine called you the Starks’ intern,” MJ murmured. “Which means you don’t just work for Tony Stark.”

Peter pursed his lips but didn’t deny it. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide it but he wasn’t trying to advertise it either. He wasn’t surprised that MJ was the one who figured it out. “I shadow Pepper on Tuesdays or Thursdays and then work with Tony on Wednesdays and Fridays.”

“Pepper,” she echoed, looking visibly awed for the first time since he’d known her. Not that he was surprised. Pepper had that effect on everyone. Sometimes, Peter _still_ questioned whether she was even a mortal. MJ pursed her lips like she was contemplating something before nodding once to herself. “Peter, I have never asked you for anything ever but do you think I could meet-”

“Of course,” Peter smiled. MJ had become a close friend since Homecoming and he knew that Pepper would absolutely love her. The fact that he could mess with MJ with only a minimal chance of dying was just a small bonus. “In fact, it’s already done.”

MJ scrunched her brows together. “Already done?” she repeated. “What does that mean?”

Peter smirked. “You’ll see.” He walked away and slipped back into the group. A moment later MJ joined him, glaring at the side of his head but he refused to say anything. She would forgive him later.

“Hey, Peter,” Katherine called, causing his head to snap up. “Cindy just asked a great question if you want to give a stab at answering.” 

“Uh, sure. What was the question?” Peter asked, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“So when SI is marketing a new product, how do you decide what idea to use?” Cindy repeated. 

Peter brightened because he actually knew the answer to this question. “SI has a firm belief that anyone, even interns, has something to contribute. So, when there’s a new product, like the latest Stark phone, there’s a meeting to discuss age demographics and everyone in the department has two weeks to come up with a rough pitch. Through the process of elimination, the head of the department will choose the top five to send to PR and then Pepper to sign off on it.”

The team broke off into excited whispers at his answer before tapering off as Katherine led them through the PR department. When Katherine and Shuri led them into the studio, Peter was thrown off as one of the employees he knew, Devon, called him over. Looking over, he saw Devon working with two of the other interns, James and Angel. He internally panicked for a moment. That wasn’t part of the plan. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. It only worked marginally but he walked over to the set anyways. 

“Hey, what’s up?” 

“Dude, thank God you showed up. I’ve been trying to get this shot for the past hour but it hasn’t been turning out right at all,” Devon said, practically pushing their camera into his arms. 

“You know I can’t do your job for you,” he joked, already adjusting the lens. It was going to be fine. The world wasn’t going to end just because he took a photo. He frowned slightly. Knowing his luck, the world probably _would_ end now, just to spite him. “Fair trade though, you go and answer some questions for the tour group over there while I do this.”

“Done.” Devon smiled and walked over to the group, who had stopped to watch the interaction. Peter couldn’t help but feel smug when he saw the slightly lost look on Mr. Harrington’s face. 

“What’s up with the group?” Angel asked as she adjusted the lighting. “You leading tours now?”

“Um, that’s actually the AcaDec team that I’m a part of,” Peter admittedly sheepishly, looking through the lens of the camera to hide the heat rising to his face. “Tony offered us a tour after we won our last competition.”

James whistled. “Damn, what made Stark hate you so much?” he asked rhetorically. It was the worst kept secret in the compound that Peter could get Tony to do anything.

“I think it’s a mix of payback for tricking him into taking a nap last time and purposefully not telling him about the meet.”

Angel nodded sagely. “Sleep is for the weak.”

There was a beat of silence for a moment before they all burst out laughing. Peter finally got the new StarkPad set up the way he wanted and lined up the camera to take the shot. The click of the camera rang through the studio as Peter took the first photo. “I never thought I’d see the day when someone other than Pepper Potts herself got Tony Stark to stop working,” James mused.

Peter snorted. “It’s not that hard. I just pretend that I’m the one who needs something and he immediately does it too so I don’t feel _left out._” He added finger quotes around the last words. When his friends didn’t say anything he looked up and saw them staring at him.

“Peter, you goddamn genius,” Angel stage whispered. 

He didn’t have time to respond because his class shuffled over. “Hey,” he greeted. He handed the camera back to Devon to look through. “I just finished up. Team, this is Angel and James. They’re both interns in marketing.”

There was a murmur of hellos from both the team and Angel and James. “We’d be happy to answer any other questions you have,” Angel offered. 

“We would?” James echoed, causing Angel to slap his arm. “I mean, of course we would.”

“How do you become an intern?” Flash asked, causing Peter to glance at him. He seemed uncharacteristically desperate. He thought Flash was a lot of things but desperate was pretty low on the list. 

“Recommendations, a good resume, and amazing interview skills,” James counted off. “Plus, there’s a month-long probation.”

“SI almost only takes college-level interns but there are a few obvious exceptions,” Angel added, gesturing to Peter. 

Flash looked like he was about to ask something else but Shuri interrupted him. “Unfortunately, we’re running a bit behind schedule so we’re going to go ahead and make our way to the lunchroom before heading to R&D.”

His team started to cheer, which was completely unsurprising to Peter. As interesting as SI’s marketing section was, his friends were all science geeks at heart. They moved through the compound quickly, impatient to get to the R&D labs. 

When they finally made it to the lunchroom, Peter started to grin. Food court was probably a better word to describe the place. Pepper had employed a bunch of local businesses, meaning the food was all freshly made and tasted like heaven. Katherine released them to get whatever they wanted, covered by SI, with her only order to stay in the room. 

Peter headed towards his favorite Italian place when Flash grabbed his arm to hold him back. Ned cast him a worried look but he waved him off. His Spidey-Sense wasn’t ringing so he figured it was fine. It wasn’t like Flash would be able to try anything while they were in the middle of SI.

“I wanted,” Flash started, looking like he had just eaten a lemon whole. He took a deep breath but his voice was still strained when he said, “I wanted to say sorry for being such a dick about your internship.”

Peter blinked. That was probably the last thing he was expecting. “Why? I mean, why were you acting like that in the first place?” His eyes flicked down to Flash’s side where he was squeezing his hand into a fist.

“You’re not actually going to make me say it are you?”

“I just want to understand.”

Peter could hear Flash gritting his teeth together and he was slightly worried that he was going to draw blood if he made his fist any tighter. “I was jealous, okay? I know your life has sucked but at least the people who are in your life actually care. I see you and your, cousins or whatever they are, bickering all the time but they still almost always show up to the AcaDec competitions and your aunt is right next to them. Plus, your friends may be nerds but at least they actually want to hang out with you rather than just your money.” 

He was not expecting that answer. Honestly, he wasn’t expecting any answer. “I’m not going to forgive you right away. Not until you’ve shown me you changed. But, for now, do you want to come sit with us?” he asked.

“What?” Oh, he was definitely going to keep that expression in his mind as one of his favorites. He had never seen Flash look so surprised and blindsided. It was a shame that MJ wasn’t standing there. She would love drawing the obvious crisis on his face.

“I mean, MJ is definitely going to glare at you the entire time but if you think you’ll be able to survive that then you’re welcome to sit with us,” Petter offered. “Go grab something to eat and I’ll meet you over there.”

Flash nodded, actually smiling for once instead of his normal smirk. Peter watched him go before he pulled out his phone and shot off a text. Once it registered as delivered he tucked it back into his pocket and walked over to buy his favorite gnocchi dish from Luca’s. Flash still hadn’t made it over by the time he was at the table but he figured that it would just be a couple more minutes.

“What did Flash want?” Ned asked. 

“He wanted to apologize,” Peter said, taking a little too much joy in the shocked look on Ned’s face. MJ raised an eyebrow at him and he tried to defend himself. “I didn’t accept. Yet. But he seemed really sincere so I’m going to give him a second chance.”

MJ didn’t look particularly happy but she didn’t argue with him so he counted it as a win. 

As he had predicted, a few minutes later Flash was standing awkwardly next to them. The table was silent for the next few minutes until Flash finally spoke up. “Sorry,” he said, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and continued, but Peter could see the red tinging the tips of his ears. “I’m sorry for being such an ass to you, Leeds. You didn’t deserve it.”

“You’re right, I didn’t deserve it. But if Peter’s willing to give you a second chance then so am I. But don’t screw it up,” Ned warned. Flash smiled again, which once again struck Peter as a million times better than his smirk. 

Conversation came a lot easier afterward. MJ continued to read her book but Peter could tell by the quirk of her lips that she was listening in. Ned and Flash managed to get into a heated debate about which Hogwarts House was the best, which was extremely amusing. He never would have pegged Flash as the Harry Potter type. 

Ned died off mid-sentence as he stared at something behind Flash and Peter. He didn’t need to turn around to see who it was. There was the tell-tale whir of his leg braces as Rhodey pulled up a chair. MJ put down her book which could have meant a number of things but it always put Peter on edge.

“Rhodey, this is Ned, MJ, and Flash,” he introduced, gesturing to each of them.

“Nice to meet you. How’s the tour going?” Rhodey said, ignoring the stares of the rest of the Midtown kids. 

“Iron Patriot,” Ned whispered, visibly star-struck.

Peter snorted as he saw Rhodey’s eye twitch at the name. “It’s War Machine, actually,” he corrected Ned for the man. “And, the tour has been good so far. Excited to see R&D though.” 

“War Machine, huh?” MJ repeated, a dangerous glint in her eye. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

Peter was tempted to warn Rhodey to say no but he was also curious how the man would answer. 

Once Rhodey nodded and gestured for her to continue, MJ grinned. “What are your thoughts on the rumors of an enhanced registration that would require all mutants and enhanced to wear a patch to declare their status? Do you believe that it is ethically moral to send every enhanced criminal to the Raft, which is reported to have extremely inhumane conditions, regardless of the severity of their crime?”

Rhodey blinked but smiled, something Peter had never seen when MJ was questioning someone. “Those are great questions. I can assure you that those are just rumors but if it ever was brought up, I would be vehemently opposed. I should probably say that the Secretary of State knows what he’s doing…”

“But?” MJ prompted.

“Off the record, I wish the Raft didn’t exist,” he answered. MJ scrutinized him for a moment before nodding and going back to her book. Peter could hear the impossibly small exhale from Rhodey when she finally looked away. He turned to Peter. “So, Tony has you all heading to R&D next?”

“Yeah, Mr. Stark has some sort of demo planned.” Peter shrugged, pretending he didn’t know exactly what was going to happen. “He wouldn’t tell me.”

“That sounds like Tony. Speaking of, you ever going to call him Tony or?”

“Not to his face.” Peter grinned. 

Rhodey chuckled before getting to his feet. “I should probably go. It looks like you’re about to continue the tour anyway. See you later, Peter.” He gestured to where Shuri and Katherine were waiting near the door.

Peter scrambled out of his chair. “Thanks, Rhodey.” Ned, MJ, and Flash got up to follow him and they stood by Katherine and Shuri until the rest of the AcaDec team made their way over. It seemed that they were running behind schedule because Katherine ushered them through the compound without giving them time to stop and ask questions. 

After a couple of minutes, they stood before the double doors that led to the R&D labs. He could practically feel the excitement in the air. The doors were made of frosted glass so the only thing you could make out from the other side was the vague shapes of people moving around. 

“Okay, behind these doors you will get to see SI’s current projects in the works. Don’t touch anything unless you are given permission and don’t wander off. No photos or videos allowed are allowed which you all agreed to when you signed the NDAs,” Shuri reminded. “You also agreed to not talk about anything you see. If we find out you have then we will pursue legal action.”

Katherine pushed open the doors dramatically. “Welcome to Research & Development.”

Behind the doors, there was a bustle of activity. Interns ran to and from different sections of the labs carrying papers or materials. As they walked through the lab, there were multiple gasps from his friends as they saw different projects at work. At one point they stopped to watch one of the scientists test a group of microbots. 

“These microbots are small enough that they can move throughout rubble but when they come together hopefully they’ll be able to lift up to ten tons,” Shuri commented. “You can imagine how helpful this would be in search and rescue situations.”

“So cool,” Ned whispered from beside Peter as the microbots slowly rose. There was a collective groan from the group when the microbots collapsed into a pile. 

“As you can see, it’s still a work in progress,” Katherine cut in, laughing to dispel some of the disappointment. 

“This is just one example of the work SI does. Recently, we’ve started to work with the Wakandans in order to integrate vibranium into some of the designs. Princess Shuri is the head of their Research and a certified genius. Tony Stark has even admitted she’s smarter than him,” Shuri bragged. Peter had to stop himself from snorting. A quick glance at MJ revealed that she was squinting at Shuri, clearly suspicious. He wouldn’t be surprised if she figured it out before Shuri revealed herself.

“Have you met her?” Ned asked. Peter almost felt bad for keeping the fact that she _was_ Shuri a secret. “How cool is she?”

“The _coolest_,” Shuri reassured, her mouth quirking to the right in a smug smile. “And it seems like we’re here. I’m excited to introduce you all to-”

There was a crash from behind the doors to the private lab that was reserved for a specific project. The entire group seemed apprehensive to enter. A shadow appeared on the other side of the glass and a young woman slipped out. Peter was pretty sure that she was a lab assistant or something named Yasmine. She slammed the door behind her and leaned against it, panting. When she turned around, she jolted at the unexpected audience before her gaze zeroed in on Peter and her shoulders sagged in relief.

“Peter, thank God you’re here. She made a breakthrough during lunch and has been on one of her trips since then. I tried to get her to calm down but I was too late to stop her from drinking one of her energy concoctions,” Yasmine explained, gripping his shoulder. “Do you think you could…”

“Yeah, of course.” He turned to Katherine and Shuri. “Probably best if you all stay behind me.”

“Is this woman dangerous?” Mr. Harrington asked. Peter couldn’t decide if his tone was nervous or indignant. Probably a bit of both.

“It’s completely safe but she can be a bit intense the first time, especially if she just had caffeine.”

Peter cautiously entered the lab. It seemed all of the other interns and scientists had made the smart decision and evacuated the lab until the energy boost wore off. Behind a filing cabinet, a loud clattering noise started before dying off abruptly. A woman popped out from behind it and a maniacal grin spread over her face when she saw him. She was pale and wore thick-framed, round glasses that matched her brightly colored scarf. Her hair was dark and curly, only held back by a braid of hair that acted as a headband.

“Peter!” she exclaimed, rushing forward. “I figured out why the arm wasn’t responding to the neural transmitter. We thought the problem was in the transmitter by itself but really it was in both of them. They weren’t communicating! The readings we were getting were the ones we had programmed in as a base.”

“That’s awesome, Dr. Octavius. But maybe you could explain what you’re working on to my friends,” Peter requested, stepping aside so she could clearly see his team. She was so frazzled that she forgot to remind him to call her Liv. She leaned into the nearest person’s face, that person being Ned, and scrutinized him. Ned was the first to move away, squirming uncomfortably under her gaze. 

Dr. Octavius’s face lit up and clapped her hands together. “Of course I’ll talk to your friends. I love talking to the youth of today.” She went on to explain her research on building prosthetics that would have the same maneuverability as a regular hand, even showing off the latest prototype. Peter’s friends hung onto her every word, following her around the lab. 

Eventually, Katherine had to cut her off. “I am so sorry Dr. Octavius, but unfortunately we have to go now if we want to have enough time for the next section” There was a collective groan from the group as they were shuffled out of the lab and into the one across the hall. 

Peter was the last one out the door when Dr. Octavius held him back. It seemed to be a recurring theme that day. “How have you been, Peter? We haven’t seen you down in the labs for some time.”

Peter rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, Tony has had me working on a project in my lab.”

“You’ll have to show it to me once you’re done. But until then, just make sure you visit more often.”

“Yeah, of course,” Peter promised.

She smiled at him before starting to usher him out of the lab. “Go on, have fun with your friends. Don’t want to be late now do you?”

“Yeah, yeah. See you, Dr. Octavius!”

“I thought I told you to call me Liv!” She called after him. 

Peter quietly pushed the door to the lab open and joined Flash at a table near the back. Ned and MJ were at the table next to them.

“Nice of you to join us, Parker,” a rough voice called from the front. “It’s reassuring to know that you are late for everything, not just intern meetings.”

John Kelly stood at the front of the room, glaring at him. Peter groaned inside his head. He should have asked Tony to pick anyone but _him_. The man had hated him since he had first started interning and fixed the equation he was working on. 

He gave the man a sugar-sweet and fake smile. “I may be late all the time but I still somehow have a higher clearance than you.” Mr. Harrington glared at him briefly as his teammates stared at him with wide eyes before looking back at the older man for his reaction like they were watching a tennis match.

Peter could hear Kelly’s jaw clench and his teeth grind together. He didn’t respond to the taunt, opening the folder in his hands and reading from it instead. “You all have the next hour to create something from the materials in front of you with your table partner. The winning group will be given the opportunity to apply for our new teenage summer internship program.”

The room burst into chatter at the prospect. Peter glared at Kelly. That wasn’t supposed to be revealed until the end to prevent it from becoming competitive. This was the only part of the field trip that he didn’t help plan, which he severely regretted.

“Dude! How could you not tell me about this?” Ned asked.

“It was supposed to be a surprise.” Peter pulled out his phone and sent another text, slipping it away before Kelly saw he had it out. 

Flash had already laid out all of the materials from the box. There was a bunch of scrap metal and plastic, a polymer mix, a glass jar, and plastic tubing. On the far side of the lab there were more communal materials but they seemed to be first come first serve. Looking around it seemed like no one else had the same supplies. 

“How about you start brainstorming and I’ll go check out the other materials?”

“I don’t need your-” Flash cut himself off, wiping the sneer from his face. He looked sheepish. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

Peter nodded and ran over to the wall of materials. There were a few oxygen containers, a wall of nuts and bolts, and a station to cut wood or metal. He let out a small cheer as he picked up a small machine and walked back to the table with it. It made a loud clang as it fell on the table. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Vacuum chamber?”

“Vacuum chamber,” he echoed.

They got to work, Flash collected the parts and assembled the various valves and plastic tubing while Peter cut the leftover plastic to fit as a lid and created a polymer seal. _“We work surprisingly well together,”_ Peter mused. They managed to get done with five minutes to spare which they used to clean up their station. When the timer went off, Peter looked around at everyone else’s projects. Ned and MJ had created some type of homemade steam engine while Betty and Cindy had made a retro sandblaster. 

Katherine, Shuri, and Kelly went around and took notes on all of the projects after a short demonstration. Based off of the glare Kelly was giving him, Peter was pretty sure that he was going to give him a bad score on principal. However, there was no way to prove it when Katherine excitedly announced Betty and Cindy as the winners. He clapped along because they definitely deserved the opportunity, it was just a bit disappointing. 

“I definitely thought we were going to get it,” Flash said, staring down at his feet. Peter patted his shoulder in sympathy. 

Their tour guides shepherded them into the only conference room in R&D and had them sit down before moving to the front of the room. 

“We wanted to give you a live demonstration of some technology. This was actually developed by SHIELD agents before the agency was dismantled a few years ago,” Katherine said, smirking. The holotable lit up and a type of mask was displayed in a cool blue. 

“It was primarily used in their stealth operations. A holographic mask that could disguise agents as anybody in the world,” Shuri explained and Peter easily recognized the mischievous look in her eye. She reached up and pulled at the mask on her face, her voice distorting as she spoke. “I’ve actually been wearing it all day.”

Betty gasped as soon as she saw Shuri’s real face. “You’re- You’re-”

“Amazing,” Shuri finished. “Yes, I know, thank you. I’m also the Princess of Wakanda.”

Peter glanced at MJ, who was staring at Shuri. Her eyes seemed sort of glazed over like she couldn’t believe she was real but otherwise, there was no reaction. He pursed his lips. That just wouldn’t do.

Ned’s jaw was hanging open and he had taken to repeatedly hitting Peter’s arm in excitement. Flash wasn’t much better but at least his hands seemed firmly rooted next to him.

“But wait!” Shuri cried, slamming her hands onto the table. The students let out various gasps of surprise and alarm. “There’s more!” Peter snorted and Ned let out some inhuman noise that was a mix between a squeal and a shriek. 

Shuri didn’t let it phase her and continued on. The screen behind her changed to a low-resolution photo of herself and the silhouette of two other people. “With your surprise of me, you get a visit with two billionaires, free of charge!” 

The silhouettes were replaced with a picture of Pepper Potts and Tony Stark at the same time that the lights started to flash red, yellow, and purple. Cindy let out a shocked yell and everyone started to talk over each other. Shuri didn’t say anything, her gaze focused on something behind them and still grinning. 

The AcaDec team reconnected to the hive mind for a moment and they all turned around simultaneously to face the door. The moment MJ caught sight of Pepper, her jaw actually dropped which Peter counted as the biggest win. 

The rest of the team stayed connected to their weird hive mind and their eyes followed Tony and Pepper silently as they walked to the front of the conference room. Tony stopped to ruffle Peter’s hair and he ducked out of his grip, carefully trying to put it into some semblance of order. 

“Hello, Midtown High! I’m Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, and this is Tony Stark,” she announced unnecessarily. “We are so happy that you could make it today. As the future of our world, SI is invested in seeing the change that you are going to make. Now, we would love to answer any questions you have so…” she trailed, leaving the floor open for someone to ask.

The room exploded in noise as the teens tried to talk over each other. For the first time, Mr. Harrington jumped in and tried to get them under control. “Quiet! Raise your hand and wait until you’re called on.”

“You must be Mr. Harrington,” Tony cut in before anyone could even put their hand up. “Pete has told me all about you. You must be so proud when he tells you about his progress here.” There was a challenge in his eyes. As Mr. Harrington stumbled through an answer, they could all tell that he didn’t talk to Peter about his internship at all. It stung at Peter, but he was used to teachers not believing him.

Pepper, the absolute goddess, interrupted his stuttering but her words held a sharp edge to them. “We just love Peter. His contributions to SI are invaluable.” She was definitely laying it on thick but he wasn’t going to complain if he got to see Mr. Harrington turn another shade of red that he didn’t know existed. She turned away from the man and stage whispered to the group, “He’s also the only one who can get Tony to sleep.” They all swiveled back to look at Peter with various degrees of awe and befuddlement. 

_“Their necks are gonna hurt after all the snapping back to look at me.”_ Peter thought distantly.

“Enough about that, though. I think we’ve embarrassed Peter enough.” Pepper clapped her hands together and turned back to the rest of the room and Tony followed her lead. Peter slumped down in his chair out of sight. “Now, how about some questions?”

Thirty minutes later and they were walking out of the compound and back to the bus. Everyone was chattering excitedly about the Q&A they had just had with Tony and Pepper. Peter somehow ended up sitting next to MJ when Flash sat down next to Ned to continue their debate from lunch. 

They were halfway through the bus ride when Flash let out a shout of excitement. “I just got an email for an application to SI’s summer program.”

“Me too!” Ned yelled, also checking his phone.

There was a flurry of movement and yelling as everyone else confirmed that they had received the same email. The hive mind returned and they all turned to look at him at the same time. He held up his hands in the universal sign for peace. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. But… if one of the judges were to notice an unfair bias during judging then the only way to fix it would be to give them all the reward.”

There was a chorus of thanks before the matter was dropped, but the bus buzzed with renewed excitement as they discussed the possible internship.

A few minutes later MJ closed her book and turned to him. “You know, for a capitalist, ex-weapons manufacturer, Stark wasn’t that bad,” she commented. 

“He’s a lot different in person,” Peter agreed. “How was the surprise, by the way? Shuri, Pepper, and the best face in distress that you’ve ever seen.”

MJ smirked. “Oh, I think Mr. Harrington’s face is going to fuel my sketches for the next week. Plus, Pepper Potts told me that she would love to have lunch with me. Peter, _we’re having lunch.”_ MJ smiled briefly, a real genuine smile that lit up her face in a way Peter had never seen. But it was gone the moment he blinked. 

“I’m glad.” 

They fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the bus ride and Peter waved goodbye as she got into someone’s car to go home. When he got back to the apartment after patrol, he reviewed the security footage from the conference room and had Friday download a screenshot of the moment that MJ had seen Pepper. 

Trying not to overthink it, he sent the photo to MJ with the text, “_in case you ever wanted to draw your own face in distress :3_”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this chapter three days late? Maaaayyyybeee, you can't prove anything.  
I love the field trip fic trope so much I couldn't resist writing my own. Also, I'm all about that Flash Redemption Arc so you bet that I was going to take the opportunity and run with it.  
Let me know what you thought  
<3 voidfangirl


	12. Chapter 12

**Junior Year: Fall Break**

The wind rushed past Peter’s face, stinging his cheeks red as he swung through Manhattan but he didn’t notice or care about it. His mouth was split into a wide grin but that was always the case after he visited his mom. As much as he loved Hestia, his mom somehow always managed to put everything he was feeling into perspective. This time he had asked for advice on his growing relationship with Tony. Every time he left the compound, there was a crushing sense of guilt. Not for starting to think of his mentor as more but for _not_ feeling guilty about the time they spent together. He already had a father, he didn’t need another one. (He didn’t _deserve_ one.)

Sally had made blue chocolate chip cookies and explained to him that even if Poseidon was his father, he was never a consistent presence so, _of course_, it was okay that he found one in Tony. He had left the apartment with the promise to visit again the next week and his heart feeling lighter than it had in weeks. 

Now though, as he came in sight of the old Avengers tower he slowed down and doubt started to creep in. Sure he had been starting to think of Tony as his father figure but that didn’t mean his mentor returned the sentiment. There were still days that Peter was pretty sure the man only put up with him because he was Spider-Man. Plus, Tony was already so busy with trying to fix the Sokovia Accords and SI that Peter didn’t want to bother him with something else to add on to his plate. 

The sound of breaking glass pulled sharply on his ears. Peter tilted his head and focused on the sound. It was coming from a few blocks away which made him tilt his head in curiosity. Normally, he filtered out noise like that; they were in one of the busiest cities in the US, if he listened to every instance of breaking glass then he would never sleep. Something told him to check it out and for the first time in a few months, he couldn’t tell if it was his Spidey-Sense or demigod instincts. 

Once he was above the alley where the noise originated (making him wonder, not for the first time, why all bad things happened in alleys) he looked down and saw two men cornering another man. The victim had broken his beer bottle for some attempt at a weapon but judging by the way he was swaying and the guns the other men were sporting it wouldn’t help him. 

The two attackers were in the middle of threatening the man when Peter decided to surprise them. Shooting two webs he managed to disarm both of the men before he flipped down into the alley. “So do all of your super shady meetings take place in alleys? Or just this one?” He asked curiously. 

The two men glanced at each other before the one on the right swung at him. Peter ducked under the fist and pushed the man so he went stumbling into the wall. “Fine, don’t answer my question. Didn’t you learn manners growing up?” He shook his head mockingly. 

His friend took the opportunity to pick up a metal pipe that was just lying on the ground and swing it at his head. Peter’s head rang at the last second and he dodged the blow but the edge of the pipe managed to catch his arm and Peter could feel the blood welling up through the fabric, even if the suit itself didn’t tear. 

“Aw, man,” he complained, rolling his shoulder in an attempt to stop the pain. “You better hope that doesn’t stain. I was having such a good night too.”

Figuring he was dragging the fight on too long, Peter readjusted his stance to go on the offensive. His Spidey-Sense rang in his head and he threw his elbow back on instinct, catching the first guy in the nose. He kicked the one with the metal pipe in the stomach and he crashed into a dumpster. Taking advantage of his confusion, he webbed both of the guys’ hands to the lid of the dumpster before spinning and knocking the first guy unconscious with a light punch. He winced as he heard a tooth crack as the man hit the ground but didn’t feel too bad for him. 

Peter turned to see the man who was attacked standing in shock at the end of the alley. A snarl took over the man’s face and he shouldered past Peter before he could say anything. The only thing the man said was a muttered “freak” which caused Peter to roll his eyes. It wasn’t the first time he had heard the term and he was certain it wouldn’t be the last to the point that it didn’t hurt anymore. There was always going to be some idiot out there who was too close-minded to accept people like him. 

***

Matt shifted from his spot above the alley. He had heard the start of a scuffle behind one of the many run-down bars. He didn’t particularly care about a simple bar fight but the itch under his skin was starting to get to be too much so he figured he could allow himself this one fight.

As he had gotten closer, the sound of fighting got louder. There were four heartbeats in the alley. One of them was standing towards the back of the alley and his heart was beating in the pattern of shock that Matt had become familiar with. The other three were fighting, two against one. Surprisingly, the two men seemed to be the ones losing. He cocked his head as his ears picked up on a strange ‘thwip’ noise, something entirely unfamiliar to him. He could make out the vague impression of one of the men being stuck near the dumpster, the metal creaking as he tried to pull away without luck. The familiar sound of teeth cracking as a head hit the pavement didn’t even phase him at that point. 

The man at the back of the alley finally moved, drawing Matt’s curiosity at the way he muttered ‘freak’ to the man who had defended him. He hadn’t been paying much attention to him before, something he cursed himself for. His heart was beating faster than Matt was used to but that made sense because of the fight he was just in. There was a strange humming coming from the man like he was wrapped in electricity. _“He’s wearing a suit,”_ Matt realized. 

The only logical conclusion then, was that he was one of the other vigilantes who decided to mess with Matt’s territory for some reason. It wasn’t one he had met before, because Danny and Luke knew better than to do anything in Hell’s Kitchen without his permission. Well, Danny might have stopped a mugging if he was walking past it but this man didn’t feel remotely like Danny, whose heart was always calm and steady. The only other vigilante he had heard of was-

_“Spider-Man,”_ he thought grimly. He was well aware that wherever Spider-Man went, Iron Man was close behind or was at least informed of what the Spider had seen and done. He really didn’t need Tony Stark breathing down his neck constantly. There was also a flair of indignation in his gut because the man hadn’t bothered to show up himself, instead sending his sidekick to mess with Matt’s territory. 

If he had any doubt about the man’s identity, it was extinguished when he climbed up the side of the building onto the opposite roof and faced away from Matt. There was a stutter in his heartbeat before he turned around to face Matt, something that he filed away for later because he wasn’t expecting the man to know he was there.

“Spider-Man, right?” he asked unnecessarily, pitching his voice down a few octaves and making it rougher. He jumped to the other building easily enough and didn’t give the other man time to respond, leaning in close. “I don’t know what you’re doing here but Hell’s Kitchen is my territory. If Stark sent you then you can tell him that I don’t need his help and I sure as hell don’t want to sign the Sokovia Accords. Do me a favor and stick to Queens next time.” 

It was harsh but it got the point across because Spider-Man took a step back and raised his arms defensively. Matt turned away, unwilling to waste more time threatening the man when he had more pressing concerns.

Behind him, Spider-Man started to talk. “Hey, man, I wasn’t-” he cut off abruptly as his voice cracked on the ‘wasn’t.’ He cleared his throat and tried again. “I wasn’t trying to like, encroach on your territory or whatever. And Mr. Stark didn’t send me either. I was on my way back to Queens when I heard…”

He continued to babble but Matt wasn’t listening, for once in his life, because his shoulders had gone taut as a horrible, awful, realization dawned on him. Because, _oh shit_, Spider-Man was a kid. He was a goddamn _kid_. He repeated it a few more times in his mind before it finally sank in.

It was obvious as soon as he opened his mouth, his voice still high from adolescence and prone to crack on every other word. His enthusiasm and need to prove himself were evident in his long-winded explanation. It reminded Matt very painfully of when he was a kid, trying to impress Stick. 

Anger started to curl in his gut, the feeling as familiar as breathing and he wondered if he was imagining the way his vision turned redder than the normal world on fire. Because Tony Stark was letting a kid swing through the streets of New York every night where he could easily get killed. Focusing on his suit just made him more furious. He could head the way the fabric was sliding and pulling against the kid’s skin, providing him little more protection than Spandex regardless of the tech weaved through it. He didn’t know how he hadn’t recognized the tang of blood coming off of the kid, betraying some injury that wasn’t immediately obvious. 

He had turned around at some point, to better observe the kid, who had finally gone quiet and was waiting for him to say something. “You’re a kid,” Matt finally said, daring him to object.

“I am _not_ a kid,” he denied, panic starting to creep into his voice. “I am very much an adult person. What made you-”

“You’re injured,” Matt cut him off because that was the more important issue. Definitely not because he desperately wanted to ignore the problem for the moment. 

“It’s just a scratch,” the kid, _Spider-Man_, said. The name didn’t sound right to Matt. Spider-_Kid_ was more accurate and actually representative of the fact he was a _goddamn kid_. 

Judging by the amount of blood that Matt could smell, it was definitely more than ‘just a scratch.’ “If you try to swing all the way back to Queens, you’re going to get yourself killed.” 

“I’ll be fine,” the kid insisted. Matt sensed him move and quickly tried to assess his options. He couldn’t let the kid leave without some sort of medical treatment. Claire’s apartment was too far, all the way in Harlem. That only left…

“Wait,” he commanded. Thankfully, the kid listened to him. As much as he hated it, this was the best option and he wasn’t going to just leave the kid here. “My apartment is close and it has medical supplies you can use.”

“You were literally just threatening me. Why should I trust you?” the kid asked skeptically, causing Matt’s lips to twitch into something resembling a smile while his stomach roiled. It was good that he was wary but at the same time, a kid his age shouldn’t have to worry about these sorts of things.

“You shouldn’t. But I’m a pretty good choice right now.” Matt turned around and jumped onto the next building, not waiting for an answer. He couldn’t stop the smile however, when he heard the kid curse and start running after him. 

It normally took Matt ten minutes to get from the bar to his apartment but the kid was doing worse than he thought, making the trip twenty minutes. Worry started to overtake the anger but he held himself back, not wanting to overwhelm the kid. Once he made it onto the roof, he waited for the Spider-Kid to catch up and walk downstairs into the apartment before following. 

Spider-Kid (_Kid Spider?_) was standing awkwardly in his living room and Matt could only imagine the types of things that were going through his mind. “Lights are on the wall by the door,” he said as he went to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit and bottle of vodka he kept for situations like these. 

“It’s a nice place you have here,” the kid said, voice strained but still entirely genuine. “Very Marie Kondo minimalist.”

Matt stared blankly in his general direction before choosing not to comment. He wondered if he was supposed to recognize the name. “Sit.”

Spider-Kid took a seat on Matt’s couch but not before he hit something and there was a sound like air being released from high pressure. His suit no longer seemed to pull against his skin, instead dragging along it like it was bunched together instead of skin tight. 

“I don’t have hydrogen peroxide,” Matt told him regretfully. He knew from experience how much alcohol stung, but hydrogen peroxide wouldn’t be much better. 

“Two shots of vodka,” the kid murmured but didn’t say anything else so Matt figured he was fine to continue even if he was extremely confused at the kid’s words.

Uncorking the bottle with his teeth, he poured it unceremoniously onto the Spider-Kid’s shoulder. Matt’s heart clenched as he heard the kid hiss in pain but he kept a straight face as he worked, slowly cleaning the scratch out. Once he got rid of the blood, he realized it really wasn’t that bad of an injury, it was just bleeding a lot. 

“What’s your suit made out of?” he asked softly as he staunched the blood with a towel.

The kid jerked at finally being addressed which made Matt wince. “Um, it’s this special synthetic fabric that Mr. Stark developed.”

Matt frowned. “It feels like spandex.”

Spider-Kid’s entire body tensed which was not good for his shoulders _at all_, did this kid not know anything about what to do when you were injured? There were a couple of answers and all of them were worrying for different reasons. The first was that he thought he was invincible just because he had a suit designed by Tony Stark and therefore couldn’t get hurt. Two, he was riled up and defending his mentor? Father? Matt wasn’t sure what the kid was to Stark at this point. The most worrying issue was that the kid had no self-preservation instincts and didn’t realize he was aggravating the wound, which meant that he probably aggravated all his wounds like a goddamn idiot.

Matt pushed his hand gently onto the kid’s good shoulder, slowly pushing him back into the couch and forcing him to relax. He was slightly surprised when he could feel the muscles move under his hand. “I was just making an observation. It managed to cut you pretty good even through the suit.” He tried going for a (hopefully) safer route of interrogation. There was an idea forming at the back of his head but first, he needed to get more information. “You mentioned Stark. Does he train you?”

The kid seemed to relax even more with the new topic. “Oh yeah, he has this awesome training room…”

He started to ramble again, making Matt think that this was a common occurrence. It also confirmed one of his suspicions and made him want to head down to the gym and punch one of the bags until his knuckles were bloody and smarting. He cut him off. “But does he train you?”

“I just said-”

“No, you said that he has a training room, not that he trains you,” Matt pointed out as he started applying gauze to the cut.

“Mr. Stark is too busy and I don’t want to bother him with training me when I can handle myself just fine,” the kid said, sounding indignant but also strangely defensive. 

“So he just lets you go out there at night without any formal training? Is he just hoping that all of the little gadgets he built into the suit will save you from a knife fight?” Matt didn’t know why he was pushing the subject but something told him it was necessary.

“He-” Spider-Kid cut himself off and Matt could almost feel the fight leaving him. “We mainly work on tech,” he admitted quietly.

Matt nodded resolutely to himself as he finished patching up his shoulder. He pushed himself off of the couch and went back to the kitchen to find one of his spare burner phones. He tossed it to the kid. “That has my number in it. I’ll text you an address and we can meet there to spar if you give me a time.”

“I don’t know…” he trailed off.

“Give it a few days and think it over,” Matt offered. He wouldn’t push the kid into accepting but he desperately wanted him to. Something told him that the kid wouldn’t stop fighting and he needed the training. It had only been an hour but Matt knew he was attached already. 

“Thanks,” the kid said softly. There was a creak from the stairs as he climbed it and his voice sounded farther away. “See you around, Daredevil.” 

Matt stood silently in his living room, listening to the younger vigilante swing through the streets until he could no longer hear his heartbeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I don't how many of y'all saw my note at the end of the last chapter but the hiatus was severely needed. I absolutely love Matt acting like another Dad to Peter/Percy because that boy deserves all of the love in the world. Anyway, updates will continue as normal now and may even be more frequent because my school has moved online for the immediate future.  
Let me know what you think  
<3 voidfangirl


	13. Chapter 13

**Junior Year: First Semester**

“Okay, are we good with the plan?” Ned asked him as he walked up to where Peter was putting his bag in his locker.

“Yeah, I’ve got FRIDAY at the ready with everything set up,” Peter confirmed.

“And you’re sure the flowers are set to release _after_ the banner unfurls?” 

“Everything is timed down to the second,” he reassured. “But dude, I’m pretty sure you’re more nervous about this than me. And I’m the one who’s actually asking MJ out to the dance.”

“I know, man, but can’t you just let me live vicariously through you ?” 

“I don’t understand why you don’t just ask Betty out.” Peter clapped Ned on the back and he stumbled forward slightly. “She’d totally say yes, even if it’s just as a friend.”

Ned opened his mouth to reply but he was cut off as a voice suddenly asked from behind him, “Who’s Ned asking out?”

The two boys jumped and turned to face MJ, who had snuck up on them for the fifth time that week. Peter guiltily shoved his hands behind his back, even though there was nothing outwardly incriminating about his phone. “Nothing!” he shouted, slightly too loud and coming out more like a squeak. He cleared his throat but he could feel his ears start to burn. He tried again. “I was just telling Ned that he should ask Betty out to the dance.”

MJ’s lips quirked upwards like it did when she knew something they didn’t but was content to not say anything. “Go for it, loser. You should go all out, too. Betty loves that type of crap.”

“And um, do you? Like that kind of crap?” Ned asked unsubtly. Peter wanted to scream but he settled for forcefully nudging his friend in the side. MJ raised an eyebrow at the motion but didn’t comment. 

MJ snorted. “Yeah, no. They’re unnecessarily performative. I think I would say no on principle.”

Peter’s eyes widened and it felt like something was trying to crawl up his throat. He was such an idiot. Of course, MJ wouldn’t like overt displays of affection. He had just gotten so excited when he happened to see a promposal last week and then he had been telling Tony and then Tony had agreed to let him use the new drones SI was in the process of developing and he hadn’t stopped to think about if MJ would like it at all. _“Idiot!”_

“Anyway,” MJ said, looking at him with a strange glint in her eye. “I have to go talk to Harrington before today’s practice. I’ll see you losers at lunch.” 

She was off before either of them could say anything. Peter slowly turned to look at Ned. He tried to keep the panic off of his face but the look Ned shot him showed he was failing considerably. 

“At least you found out before she could brutally reject you in front of everyone.” Ned shrugged but his tone was at least slightly sympathetic. 

Peter groaned and pulled out his phone. “FRIDAY, cancel everything. The plan is off.”

“Are you sure, Peter? The drones are about to leave the compound,” FRIDAY informed him. 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he confirmed before shutting the phone off. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had until decathlon practice that afternoon to figure out a new plan. 

***

“Okay, we’re finished here. Get out, dweebs,” MJ said, prompting everyone to get their stuff together. Peter could feel his heartbeat, the pulse drumming loudly in his ears. His palms were sweaty and his throat was dry but he was determined. If he could fly a plane from the outside then he could ask out his friend. 

He waited until everyone had more or less left; he knew Ned was somewhere in the hall, waiting to either celebrate or console him. MJ was talking with Mr. Harrington and he hovered awkwardly nearby before she finally turned toward him. “What’s up?”

“Um,” he started, his tongue twisting at the worst time. “I was- that is if you’re interested…” he trailed off helplessly. 

She raised an eyebrow at him, seemingly amused by his obvious nerves but waited patiently for him to continue. 

“Do you want to go to the dance with me?” he asked in a rush, shutting his eyes and tensing up like she was about to hit him. When nothing happened, Peter opened his eyes to find MJ blushing uncharacteristically. 

“Oh,” she stuttered. “I, um, sure. I wouldn’t mind that. ”

He could feel the grin growing on his face and he knew that he probably looked like an idiot, standing there and staring at her. “That’s great! I- I mean, I’m glad you said yes.”

MJ took a deep breath before her forehead creased in thought. A dangerous gleam entered her eyes. “You planned out a giant proposal and panicked after I told you I didn’t want one this morning, didn’t you?”

Peter could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Maybe. I can neither confirm nor deny that statement.”

They talked for a few more minutes before she realized that her ride had gotten there and needed to leave. MJ shot him an apologetic smile and his heart stuttered before evening out. 

He wandered out of the library, his mind slightly in a daze. There was a small part of him that still didn’t believe she had actually said yes. Ned appeared suddenly in his line of sight and he jolted. 

“She said yes?”

“She said yes,” Peter echoed, grinning like a maniac.

***

The dance was already in full swing by the time he arrived with MJ. Ned was standing off to the side of the gym floor with Betty and the rest of their friends. The two were laughing and Peter grinned at the sight. He wondered how long it would take them to finally get together. 

They made their way over, ignoring the dance floor for the moment in favor of talking. Nico was standing close to Will as he talked with Cindy and Peter was slightly surprised to see Reyna next to Thalia. 

“Reyna! What are you doing here?” he asked as they walked up.

“I thought that would be obvious,” she said dryly and Peter smirked at her knowingly, sending a pointed look to her and Thalia’s interlocked arms. He was rewarded with a glare but she didn’t comment and instead turned to MJ. “My name is Reyna, and you must be… MJ?”

MJ nodded. “So, uh, how do you know Peter?”

“We used to run a camp together but he… resigned from the position when he moved here.”

“What type of camp?”

Peter and Reyna glanced at each other before he shrugged. “It was a Latin camp.”

MJ turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you’re so good at Lang and Lit for AcaDec?”

“It definitely doesn’t hurt when they’re asking about Latin root words.” 

Her forehead creased in thought before she turned to look at him quizzically. “Is this the same camp you knew Jason from?”

Peter gaped at her for a moment, unsure how to respond but his heart gave the normal pang associated with Jason. He didn’t know why he was surprised, it wasn’t like the connection between Camp and Jason was hard to make, especially because MJ already knew they had gone there together. The silence dragged on a moment too long to be normal before Reyna awkwardly broke it by clearing her throat. “Um, yes. Jason ran the camp with me for a time until Peter took his spot for a summer.”

Thalia tugged on Reyna’s arm to get her attention and the conversation trailed off. Peter shot his cousin a grateful look before he turned to MJ. “Wanna dance?”

MJ shrugged before marching determinedly to the edge of the dance floor. Peter couldn’t help but watch her go, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. Only she would take dancing as some sort of challenge to face head on like that. It was strangely endearing. She turned back to look at him, raising an eyebrow to ask if he was going and he was struck by the way the red and blue lights illuminated her hair. A stupid smile grew on his face and he walked over to her. 

They danced together for a while, the music upbeat and songs getting increasingly stupid as the DJ went through the request list. It was… nice, Peter decided during one of the lulls where they weren’t talking but had settled into a comfortable silence. Amazing couldn’t begin to describe MJ but it was the only word that he could think of. She was smart, strong-willed, and a complete mystery to him. Something he wanted to learn about if she would let him. 

He was jolted out of his thoughts when the song changed and couldn’t help but laugh when he heard the lyrics start, stopping on instinct. MJ smirked at him, still moving. “What? You can’t handle a little Hannah Montana?”

“More like I’m surprised that you can,” he shot back. 

“I can dance to any song, in any style,” she said, obviously bluffing. 

“Oh yeah?” he challenged, waiting until she nodded at him, a defiant gleam in her eyes. “Then let’s slow dance. Right here, right now to Hannah Montana.”

She stuttered to a stop but Peter knew she wouldn’t back down. He waited until her hands were hanging loosely around his neck before he put his hands on her waist, just as hesitant. They awkwardly swayed for a moment before MJ huffed and readjusted their stance so her right hand was on his shoulder and his was on her waist while their left hands were clasped together. She took the lead and moved them in a lazy circle, somehow making it feel natural despite being the only ones slow dancing. 

“I stand corrected,” Peter murmured. “You’re really good at this.”

The blush on her cheeks was worth the glare she was leveling at him. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not,” Peter said, voice still holding the same soft tone so it could barely be heard over the noise of everything else. He raised a hand up to her face and brushed back a lock of hair. “Can I?” he trailed off without finishing the question but his intention was clear. 

She nodded and he pulled her closer before brushing her lips with his own. The kiss was chaste but sweet, her lips soft underneath his and tasting vaguely like artificial strawberries. When they pulled apart they had stopped moving and Peter leaned his forehead against hers. 

“I can’t believe our first kiss was to _He Could Be the One_ from Hannah Montana,” he whispered incredulously. 

MJ only laughed but in that moment he found that it was the only response needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is a day late but in my defense, I legitimately thought today was Sunday because the days are starting to blend together. It was also extremely difficult for me to write for some reason and I am less than satisfied with the first half. Nonetheless, I wanted to post something for you all so here it is.  
Let me know what you think  
<3 voidfangirl


	14. Chapter 14

**Junior Year: Winter Break**

“Tony, it is great to see you again,” T’Challa greeted as he came down the ramp of his ship. “And you as well young Peter. I know my sister has been eagerly awaiting-”

T’Challa was cut off by loud music blaring from the ship behind him. A manic grin stretched across Peter’s face as he immediately recognized the John Cena theme song playing. Spotlights illuminated the top of the ship, where Shuri was posing dramatically with her hands on her hips. “Hello twos, a ten has arrived.”

T’Challa didn’t even look surprised, instead pinching the bridge of his nose as she made her way down. 

“Princess Shuri, always a pleasure,” Tony said, one of his softer smiles present in place of his usual smirk. “I hope that you’ll be able to assist Peter and I in the labs. I’m sure there are plenty of things you can show us.” Said teenager was almost vibrating in excitement next to Tony. 

“Yes, of course, after all of the boring talks are over. Until then, however, Peter has promised me a proper tour of New York today.”

“I’ll have Happy drive you down then.”

***

“Uh, you can just drop us off at Central Park, Happy. We’re going to walk from there,” Peter said, leaning towards the front of the car. Happy grumbled but complied, pulling up to the curb. Peter let Shuri get out first before he followed. “Thanks, Happy!”

“Yeah, yeah, just text me when you need a ride back to the compound. Tony would have my head if I just left you two without a way back.”

“Of course, Happy. It’s definitely not because you care about me,” Peter sing-songed.

“Just get out.”

Peter laughed but got out of the car. Shuri had already found the nearest hot dog cart and was watching them with a type of sick fascination. “There are so many needless additions. And for only one American dollar.”

“That’s New York hot dogs for you,” Peter said with a shrug, before guiding her away. They walked through the park, talking about their respective projects. Peter could begrudgingly admit that he might have let out an inhuman screech when Shuri told him that she had built a functioning prototype of a lightsaber. 

“How did you get it to work? The type of power it would take to make a tangible beam of plasma that could be easily drawn and then retracted is equivalent to a small star. The only power source I could think of that would come close would be the tesseract,” Peter exclaimed, arms waving around wildly as he talked.

“I did say it was a working prototype. I altered the molecular composition of a rod of vibranium so it can be easily superheated but maintain its integrity,” Shuri explained, looking slightly sheepish.

“Still awesome.” They had made it to one of the other entrances to the park and stood waiting at the curb. Snow had started to drift down around them in soft flurries, adding onto the large clumps that were already present along the curb of the road. Peter felt a shiver run up his spine and he wondered how it must have felt for Shuri who hadn’t grown up with New York winters. “Our ride should be here soon.”

Shuri glanced at him for a moment before turning back to the insanity that was New York traffic. “I still don’t understand the need for secrecy. Why don’t you just tell Stark the truth about yourself?”

“It’s not my choice. They,” Peter nodded towards the sky, “would have my head if I told a mortal about this without their permission.”

“Hasn’t Stark worked with Thor _and_ fought against Loki? And didn’t you tell me that he was a legacy of Vulcan? It seems stupid to leave him in the dark.”

Peter was quiet for a long moment. Her question was valid. And also something he had avoided thinking about. There really wasn’t any reason for him to _not_ tell Tony about his family. He had already been given the choice by the gods. The only thing stopping him from telling Tony was his own reservations. He had become so used to keeping those two parts of his life separate. Admitting to Tony that he lived a completely different life would also mean admitting that he had lied about his life from the beginning which came with the very real possibility that he wouldn’t want anything to do with Peter.

But wasn’t lying worse? He didn’t know a lot about what happened in Siberia but he knew that Captain Rogers had kept a secret surrounding Tony’s parents from his mentor for years. He had known Tony for roughly a year. It wasn’t like he didn’t trust him, the opposite in fact. He trusted Tony implicitly. So what was it? What was holding him back? 

He was afraid. It was as simple as that. He had done things he wasn’t proud of during the Titan and Giant Wars and feared what Tony’s reaction would be. He-

“Peter!” 

The sharp voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Shuri was staring at him, still waiting for an answer but there was also poorly concealed worry in her stance. “It’s complicated,” he said lamely.

“Right,” Shuri agreed, drawing out the ‘i.’ She didn’t say anything else which Peter was grateful for. 

“Oh, by the way, when you see my friend, don’t stare,” Peter warned. “I don’t what he’ll look like for you with the Mist but if he looks normal then I suggest you just pick a pair of eyes.”

“Pair of eyes? Peter! Peter, what does that mean?”

“Oh look, he’s here.”

“Peter!”

***

After the hour-long ride, the two teens got out of the van at the foot of Half-Blood Hill. They hadn’t even made it halfway up when Shuri stopped Percy, hand splayed out on his chest. “Peter,” she said haltingly and nodded towards Thalia’s Pine, “what is that on the tree?”

Percy looked up sharply before relaxing. “Oh, that’s just Peleus. He guards the Golden Fleece that helps protect the camp.”

“That’s a dragon.”

“Is it? I hadn’t noticed.”

“I am devastated. I feel betrayed on the highest level. I don’t know if our friendship can survive this.”

“Because I didn’t tell you about the dragon.”

“No, because you’re wearing orange- yes, because you didn’t tell me about the dragon!”

“Guess you don’t want to see the lava wall then.” Percy shrugged before continuing to climb up the hill, wincing at the feel of snow seeping into his shoes. He was grinning slightly, knowing Shuri was following right behind him. 

He paused at the crest of the hill, placing a hand on Thalia’s Pine. “I, Percy Jackson, allow Princess Shuri of Wakanda within Camp’s borders.” There was a slight pulse but it dissipated quickly as the magic accepted his request. 

“There’s no snow. It’s like the entire Camp was spared from the recent storm,” Shuri breathed and Percy could _see_ the brains starting to spin in her head as she tried to figure out how it worked. 

“The magic in the wards also works to keep out undesired weather unless we want it to,” Percy explained. He nodded towards the Big House. “We need to go there first before we head to the forges.”

As they walked down the hill, Shuri continued to ask questions about the science behind the Camp. Percy tried to answer what he could but there was a lot that had never occurred to him before outside of the explanation of _magic_. “Honestly, you’re probably better off asking one of the Hephaestus kids. Though if you want to get into a debate about it you’ll have more luck in the… Athena cabin.”

Shuri looked at him quizzically. “You hesitated.”

“Did not,” Percy shot back childishly. He had been trying not to think about how much Annabeth would have loved Shuri but it seemed like the Fates’ wanted him to be in constant agony. The familiar twist in his chest was there for a moment but it faded as Shuri changed the subject to the types of friendly monsters in an unsubtle attempt to give him a way out of the conversation.

“Percy, my boy,” Chiron called out as they walked up to the stairs of the Big House. The centaur turned to Shuri and bowed. “And Princess Shuri, of course. We are honored to have you here.”

“I am honored to be here,” Shuri returned formally. “Thank you for granting my request to not make this a grand affair.”

“Of course. I won’t keep you here; I’m sure there’s lots of work to be done. Percy, you know where the forges are,” Chiron politely dismissed them before he cantered off towards the strawberry fields.

“So, on a scale of one to ten how D&D is this forge?” Shuri asked.

“Oh, a solid eleven. Looks like it’s straight out of a campaign. All the way down to the mechanical dragon that helps guard it.” 

“A mechanical dragon,” she echoed.

“I can’t tell if you’re more excited about the mechanical dragon or the real dragon.” 

Shuri had that gleam in her eyes that suggested she had either just had a brilliant idea, or one that was liable to get someone killed. Or blown up. Percy groaned. “No, you can’t get a dragon for your lab. Your brother would kill me. _Okoye_ would kill me.”

“You have two! And what they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

“I cannot legally respond to that.”

“So you’ll do it!”

“I’ll _ask_ him,” Percy conceded. 

Shuri was distracted as they entered the cabin area. Percy couldn’t tell if she was impressed or not. With every cabin having its own unique theme, and the new cabins interspersed throughout and around the original omega of the twelve Olympians, the field looked like a children’s scrapbook. It was noisy too, in a way that only the Greek camp could accomplish. The legions of Camp Jupiter would rather be disgraced than reach the same level of noise as the Ares Cabin. 

“Is that a bungalow?” Shuri asked incredulously, gesturing to Percy’s cabin.

He shrugged. “My dad really leans into the whole sea theme.” 

As they made their way to the Hephaestus Cabin, campers started to take note of them. Most of them called a greeting as they passed, the sight of Percy being less common than it had been in the past. More than a few commented on him ‘showing the new camper around.’ It confused him for all of ten seconds before he realized that as year-round campers, they were probably unaware of most of the things going on outside of camp which meant they wouldn’t recognize Shuri. The lack of information seemed like it could become a liability in the future and he resolved to talk about it with Chiron sometime soon. Probably. If he remembered.

Percy led Shuri to the back of the cabin where the open forge was located. He had suggested Bunker Nine for their meeting but Nyssa, as head of Cabin Nine, had immediately protested that it was a secure location meant only for demigods. Percy had to relent and hoped that the forges would suffice.

Once they got inside, Percy looked around for Leo before spotting him underneath the workbench. He gestured for Shuri to stay quiet before making his way over, looking at the ground to avoid tripping on a number of different tools. He knocked obnoxiously. “Hi, we’re looking for the repair boy, have you seen him?”

Leo started and banged his head on the underside of the bench. He cursed and started rubbing at the welt there as he got out. There was a scowl on his face that immediately brightened when he saw Percy. “Aquaman! How’ve you been?” He turned to Shuri and gave an exaggerated bow. “And the lovely Princess Shuri, I presume.” 

Shuri screwed her face up in faux-confusion, though there was a slight blush on her cheeks and she looked delighted. “Wow, I’ve never been mistaken for a princess before,” she said in an American accent. “The name’s Khadijah Quinn.”

Percy made a silent resolution to never question her acting skills.

Leo’s face fell and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, um, well,” he stuttered.

Shuri stared at him blankly for a minute before her mask cracked and she started laughing, punching Leo playfully on the shoulder. “I’m just messing with you. I’m Shuri, yes. Peter told me that you’re one of the best when it comes to fusing magic and technology.”

Leo was grinning madly and Percy had a sinking suspicion that he had just made a terrible mistake. “That’s right. I was the primary creator of the _Argo II_, which somehow made it through Greece and Rome mostly unscathed. I had lots of help of course.”

Percy only gained a split-second warning before there was a creaking groan and something started to move at the edges of the forge. His hand immediately went to Riptide before he realized it was just Festus resettling. 

“Festus was the real star of course. Wouldn’t’ve survived without him,” Leo said fondly, patting the mechanical dragon on the head. Percy’s throat went tight at the inherent truth of the statement, because Leo _wouldn’t_ have survived the explosion if Festus wasn’t there to revive him. 

The manic gleam returned to Shuri’s eyes and Percy was able to recognize what she was about to say before she had even opened her mouth. She wrapped an arm around Leo’s shoulders, gesturing with her hand to the open air. “Have you ever considered the thought of a mechanical dragon made of vibranium?”

The sinking feeling in Percy’s stomach returned tenfold. He idly wondered if this amount of horror was what Tony had felt after he had been introduced to Shuri.

The base of his skull started to thrum intently, his Spider-Sense just barely going off. It wasn’t his usual, ‘you’re going to die if you don’t do something _right now_,’ that normally manifested itself as a ringing in his ear when potential threats were close. Instead, it was softer, more of a ‘something is _off_,’ but had him worried all the same. There was a faint buzzing in his ear, like an extremely annoying fly. It almost reminded him of the tracker that he and Ned had taken out of the Spider-Suit. He frowned. _Where_ was the noise coming from? 

The buzz grew into a sharp ringing in his ears and Percy turned around in time to see a portal of golden sparks form as Stephen Strange stepped out of it. His Spidey-Sense ceased as soon as the portal closed and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had probably just been sensing the ambient magic building in the air as Strange used his sling ring.

He glanced around at the collection of teenagers and Percy could almost see the regret lance through his eyes. He grinned in response. “Doc!”

“Mr. Jackson,” Strange said tiredly, more in resignation than anything. “I see you have somehow made it on time for once. I wasn’t sure if that was possible.”

Percy grinned sweetly. “Anything to see you again.” Before he could retort he turned to introduce his friends. “This is Princess Shuri of Wakanda and this is Leo Valdez.”

“Doctor Stephen Strange,” he returned drily. It seemed Strange was in one of his rare moods where he didn’t want to banter because he turned to Shuri and got straight to the point. “You brought the tech?”

Shuri seemed unimpressed but obligingly opened her bag to take out her tablet. “It’s connected to the satellite we built with long-range deep space sensors. You just need to do the spell to determine the type of energy each of the individual stones produces and then I’ll be able to code them into the satellite before we launch it.”

“I can modify the tablet to work better with magic. The Athena kids and I wrote some code to make the satellite magic-compatible but you’ll have more luck with it. The actual drive it’s on has the spell which is the important part,” Leo explained, taking the tablet from Shuri while pulling the drive out of his toolbelt. They each started on their respective tasks, the teens actually focused instead of distracted by each other. Percy wasn’t surprised. War tended to do that. 

It took half an hour before Strange finished setting up the ingredients needed for his spell and another fifteen minutes to finish casting it. Percy watched in fascination even if he had already seen a similar ritual when they were setting up the tracking spell for the Mind Stone. There were more reagents needed to account for the vast distance- literal parsecs- and the spellwork was more complex, long lines of gold interwoven numerous times into a mandala that sparked and crackled like fireworks going off too soon. 

Strange was sweating by the time he finished but looked smug and pleased which Percy took to mean that it was working. “Now, all that’s left to do is wait.”

***

A few hours later, the spell seemed to fizzle out, giving a few valiant pops before the gold settled into a darker auburn. The trio of teens looked up from Leo’s sketch that explained the different components within a mechanical dragon. Strange, who had gone back to his Sanctum, appeared out of a portal moments later. He didn’t say anything to them, instead moving straight for the remnants of the spell. Percy could only assume that he was interpreting the differences within the pattern that _somehow_ gave him the information he needed. 

They crowded around him in a small semi-circle, watching intently but Strange didn’t seem to notice. He hummed to himself, writing- though one look at the doctor’s shorthand made Percy wonder if that counted as writing- down notes on whatever he saw. When he finally looked up, his only reaction to their stares was an exaggerated blink, he started enchanting again; this time the gold growing into long elegant lines that had small dots of lights interspersed at seemingly random places. Once the pattern was roughly six feet in diameter, Strange made an aborted movement with his hands and it collapsed in on itself, forming into a small ball. Another violent motion had it exploding outwards so the four of them were standing within a projection of the universe. 

“_Di immortales_,” Percy muttered softly, utterly entranced with the golden light suspended above his head. “You’ve been holding out on me Doc.”

“One would think that you all are crows, for all that teenagers seem to be unable to help themselves when they see something shiny,” the man in question jibed but a glance at his face made Percy think that his expression seemed somewhat fond. Strange scowled as he caught him looking, quickly shifting back to business. Percy grinned regardless; he was growing on him. 

Strange pointed to a particular bunch of lights that at first glance didn’t seem all that distinguishable to Percy compared to the rest of the lights. Another look revealed that some parts of the light were glowing softly in different colors than the general gold. “The Milky Way is here. You can see the yellow of the Mind Stone and the green of the Time Stone on Earth. The Space Stone on Asgard is represented by blue.” 

He walked halfway across the length of the projection where a small pinprick of glowing purple light was visible. “This is the Power Stone; the Soul Stone isn’t far off.” He walked towards the very edge of the star chart where Percy could just make out a dot of red among the gold. “We already knew that the Reality Stone is in the mining colony of Knowhere, in the hands of a being named the Collector. Thor has been making his way towards it during his search for the other Stones but now that we have their location he’ll be able to collect each of them with due haste.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Percy saw Leo mouth the phrase ‘with due haste’ to himself and struggled to suppress a snort. The humor faded as he saw an obvious flaw in their plan. “If we bring all of the Stones here, won’t it make us the biggest target?”

“Earth, or at least this galaxy, is already the biggest target,” Shuri pointed out. “With three of the Stones here, the 'Mad Titan' from the prophecy coming here is an inevitability we can’t prevent.”

Percy had to concede the point and the conversation turned to future plans. Leo begged off, citing a date with Calypso and Percy was too uncomfortable from him mentioning her to call him out on it. Once they decided to inform Thor as soon as possible of the locations for the rest of the Stones, he would see how accessible they were before trying to retrieve them. Strange left as soon as they had finished and Percy could hear him mumbling something about ‘annoying teenagers’ and purposely tuned him out. 

When the portal finally closed behind him, Percy turned and grinned at Shuri. The tilt of his head and large, mischievous eyes, made him seem more childish than usual. “Do you want to see the bottom of the lake?”

And really there was only one answer to that.

***

“And you should have seen her reaction to the hot dog carts, Mr. Stark! She bought a bun from one of the vendors- Wendell in Central Park- and then threw pieces at me so the pigeons tried to attack. Can you believe that?” Peter exclaimed in one breath over the phone. Tony felt an involuntary smile trying to form on his face and he had to bite the inside of his cheek from grinning fondly. He had a feeling that he was failing miserably. Still, the inside of his chest was a swirl of emotions, somehow even more of a mess of trash than his usual trash pile. There was a faint clamoring from the other end of the phone and Peter’s voice went silent for a few moments before coming back. “Sorry Mr. Stark, but Thalia and Nico started fighting so I should probably stop them before Aunt May gets home. I’ll see you next weekend at the lab?”

“You got it, kid,” Tony confirmed. There was a click as the line went dead and he slumped in his seat, face cradled in his hands. 

He pulled up the map he had accessed earlier that day. “You’re sure the data is correct FRI”? He asked, even though he already knew the answer. It just wasn’t one he liked. 

“Checked it twice, Boss,” FRIDAY assured him. There was a slight pause before she spoke up again, albeit somewhat hesitantly. “Are you sure that this course of action is the wisest? Peter hasn’t done anything-”

“What is it that Peter’s done now?” Pepper’s voice called out from the doorway, fondness evident in her tone. “I swear you’ve rubbed off on that boy too much.”

“Yep. Totally. I am the _worst_ influence. He needs at least a month-long cleansing to get rid of my influence,” Tony rambled. Pepper just raised an eyebrow at him, well aware of his tactics at that point. 

“Boss has been tracking Peter’s movements dating back 4 months for suspicious activity,” FRIDAY added helpfully. 

Pepper immediately started to glare at him. “I really hope that I somehow just suffered from a brief auditory hallucination because FRIDAY did not just say what I think she did.” Tony was unable to do more than glance away, sitting silently and feeling like a piece of shit. “Tony, what could Peter possibly be doing that’s _suspicious_?”

“He’s hiding something,” he insisted, jumping up from his seat, feeling oddly defensive. He pulled up the file he had made and studiously ignored the groan coming from Pepper. “And it all surrounds Perseus Jackson; alleged terrorist on the CIA watchlist at age fourteen. When we went to Wakanda, Jackson was there and Peter told me it was the first time they had met. In fact, he told me that he thought that Jackson was kind of an ass.” He turned to look at Pepper expectantly, like the rest of the puzzle pieces would be clear to her.

“And this matters because…” she prompted, more than used to Tony’s tendency to forget that other people couldn’t follow his train of thought.

“It _matters_ because a few weeks earlier I met Sally Blofis and her daughter Estelle at Peter’s house and he introduced them as close family friends. Sally Blofis who’s maiden name is _Jackson_. If they were such good friends then it would be impossible for Peter to not know her son. So, why did he lie?” Tony ranted, picking out different photographs and files. 

“You said that Jackson was a criminal. Maybe he just didn’t want you to disapprove of their friendship?” Pepper suggested.

Tony hummed noncommittally as he pulled up a clip of the fight Peter had with Impulse. “That’s not the only thing though. In this fight, Impulse makes it sound like Peter had at least _some_ degree of hydrokinesis. Which raises the question of when he got these powers and why there’s no presence of them in his DNA or cell structure.” He didn’t let Pepper say anything before he continued. “And just now I got off the phone with him and he spun this lie of what he was doing with Shuri but when I turned on the tracker this afternoon it showed him in some random strawberry farm up in Long Island. It’s not even strawberry season!”

“So… there,” Tony finished lamely. He slumped back down in his seat, suddenly feeling so tired. He was tired of everything. Why did everyone he cared about lie to him? What about him was so untrustworthy and unlovable? A soft hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked up at Pepper, who was smiling softly like she was trying to reassure him. He sighed, feeling the fight go out of him. If nothing else there was Pepper. There was always Pepper.

“Tony,” she said quietly, not unlike talking to a wounded animal. He sure felt like one at that moment. She repeated, “Tony. Peter is not Steve.” He flinched at that, even though it wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t wrong at all. He felt inexplicably angry at that moment. Over a year since that goddamn fight in Siberia, countless therapy appointments, and he was still letting Steve affect his life to such a large extent. “If he’s hiding something, which all teenagers do,” she pointed out, “then it’s almost definitely because he’s afraid of you rejecting him. That kid thinks you hung the moon, Tony. He wouldn’t do anything to purposefully hurt you. Hell, whatever this is is probably tearing him up inside just as much as you.”

Tony sighed in defeat. She was right, like always. “Yeah, okay.” He turned to the file he had and put it in order before crumpling up the hologram insto a small ball. He looked at his hand for a moment, wondering how such a small thing could carry so much weight. He shook his head and threw the ball onto the floor, where FRIDAY knew to delete it.

“All you have to do is wait. He’ll open up to you at some point,” Pepper reassured.

Tony tried really hard to believe her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! Things have been very crazy for me irl so this fic had to be put on the back burner while I dealt with some things. But everything is good now and I'm hoping to have this fic finished by the end of the summer!
> 
> While I was writing this I realized that Tony literally chipped Peter like Mrs. Benson did to Freddie on iCarly and I have not known peace since. If anyone didn't catch it, that off feeling Peter has before Strange shows up is when Tony turned on the tracker, not from the magic.
> 
> As a reminder, it was established in ASIB (Chapter 11 I think) that Dr. Strange is helping Percy track the Stones using magic. I realize this comes off as not Steve-friendly but I was trying to write from the character's perspectives. While I love Steve Rogers, I hate what they did with his characterization in Civil War and onwards so you can bet I'll be fixing that where I can. 
> 
> Let me know what you think  
<3 voidfangirl


	15. Chapter 15

**Junior Year: Second Semester**

Matt's chest felt oddly constricted as he stood in the dim light of Fogwell’s Gym. He was wearing some old boxing sweats and an even older black mask. He wasn’t sure how tonight was going to go but he thought that maybe he wanted it to go… well? It was strange how easily he had gotten attached to the kid, with only a thirty-minute interaction and a handful of texts. 

Matt twitched as he heard one of the skylights in the building creak open but didn’t move otherwise. There was a strange sort of scurrying on the wall that he assumed was the kid climbing down. The anger as he thought about the types of experiments the kid must have been forced through was a familiar one. He had spent the last month or so coming up with different scenarios, each being worse than the last, of how he had gotten his powers. The mildest one was that he was a mutant born with powers while the darkest made his blood boil. 

“You’re late,” he commented.

The kid cursed and there was a crashing and Matt assumed that he had fallen off of the wall. “Yeah, sorry. My aunt wouldn’t let me go out till I finished my Spanish homework, so…” The silence at the end indicated that he had made some sort of body gesture that he couldn’t see. He ignored the actual contents of the reason; thinking about how young he was would just make him angry again. When it became clear that Matt wasn’t going to say anything the kid cleared his throat awkwardly and tried again. “I’m going to go change into some sweats.”

Matt just tilted his head in acquiescence. His heartbeat got fainter as the wall and door of the locker room muffled it, but sound still carried well in the silent gym and his advanced hearing took care of any other noises. As such, it was easy to hear the kid as he rambled. 

“You know, I was thinking and judging by the way you seemed hung-up on the ‘whole underage vigilante’ thing- which, rude- you’ve probably just been calling me kid or something in your head.” Matt didn’t flinch. He didn’t. “You can call me Percy for now”

The name was way too uncommon to be random but Matt wasn’t going to pry. “Call me Mike then,” he returned. 

“Awesome!” 

The exclamation came from much closer and it disturbed Matt that he hadn’t heard the kid move. He nodded to where he knew the boxing ring was. “Come on, all we’re going to do tonight is fight; I want to see what you know.”

Once they were both in the ring, Matt took up a basic stance and waited as he heard Percy do the same. The air to his left shifted and he dodged to the right, ducking underneath the blow and coming up behind Percy. 

The kid was better than he thought, not a blank slate working off of instinct like he first expected. It was obvious in the way that he kept out of Matt’s reach that he was used to long-range fighting. And something about the way he fought when he got closer seemed… off. Like he was used to the space he kept between them being occupied by something. Matt’s first thought was that the kid knew his way around a knife but there was too much space for that. He would have said a staff or even a sword if the idea hadn’t been ridiculous. Why would a kid be decent at sword fighting?

Still, his hand-to-hand needed some work. His footwork seemed solid, there had barely been any stumbling though he wasn’t able to tell for certain. He grimaced at the thought of it but maybe it would be best if he could convince Jessica to come at least once. His form definitely needed work. He was putting too much power behind his punches and instinct seemed to play a large role while he was dodging. 

Matt put an end to the fight by grabbing the kid by the wrist and flipping him over his shoulder. Percy made to get back up but he shook his head. There was a groan of relief and the muffled thump of a body hitting the floor. Matt chuckled and walked to the edge of the ring where he had a water bottle waiting. 

“How are you not tired?” the kid demanded through labored breathing. 

“Who says I’m not tired?”

Percy groaned again before falling strangely silent. Matt’s face twitched but he didn’t have more time to react before there was a ‘thwip’ and his water bottle was pulled out of his hands. 

“You think you’re funny?” he asked rhetorically, voice stern but the grin on his face belaying actual annoyance. 

“Extremely,” Percy said smugly. He dumped some of the water on his head and drank a small sip before tossing it back. Matt furrowed his eyebrows when he heard his heartbeat immediately slow in response to the water. That was slightly strange but Percy’s heart rate had probably slowed from the fight naturally. Or it could have been the result of his powers.

“So,” Percy’s voice cut him out of his thoughts, “how’d I do, teach?”

Thinking back to his earlier observations, he tilted his head and turned to look in Percy’s general direction. “It’s like you have two different fighting styles. One is obviously influenced by your tendency for long-range fighting and reliance on your… webs. The other is for closer range but…” he trailed off.

“But?” Percy prompted.

“Are you used to fighting with a weapon?” Matt asked curiously. “A sword, specifically.”

Percy hesitated for a moment before replying. “Not sword fighting but I did some fencing in school.” It was a complete lie based on the way his heart stuttered. Matt filed the information away for later but didn’t push the issue, instead just nodding his head. There was an obvious release in the tension in Percy’s shoulders which just made him more curious.

“Your form needs work but you have a solid foundation. Better than I was expecting,” he admitted. “I need some time to think about how I want to teach you but we can meet here again next week at the same time.”

“Yay!”

***

A month later and Matt was thoroughly attached to Percy. The kid was so infuriatingly likable. He didn’t even try! He was just naturally enthusiastic and actually listened to Matt’s instructions in order to improve. He even got Jessica to admit she liked the kid when they got drunk together after the one training session she had been to. 

Somehow, the kid had roped him into eating sandwiches from some deli (he had to acknowledge that they were great sandwiches) on the roof of Fogwell’s at the beginning of February. Granted, it was oddly warm that night _but_ it was the principle of the matter.

“How are you not cold?” he asked.

“Oh, Mr. Stark put a heater in my suit to help thermoregulate my temperature,” Percy replied casually, like any kid would know Tony Stark.

Still, it was the opening he had been looking for for the past month. “You’ve mentioned Stark times before,” he prodded cautiously, “how’d you meet?”

“Oh, he needed some help when Captain America went rogue and gave me a suit upgrade because I was just swinging around in some sweats before. I said no, mainly because the Accords are wack, and also my Aunt would have killed me if I had gotten hurt. He let me keep the suit anyway and we’ve kept in contact since then,” Percy explained, all in one breath. Matt was honestly impressed by his lung capacity. 

The kid went on to explain the ‘Ferry Incident™’ (apparently the capitals and trademark were essential) and then the ‘Homecoming Fiasco’ that occurred shortly after. Matt was quick to mask his anger. He didn’t understand how Stark would think taking the suit away would stop Percy from going out there and risking his life. It wasn’t like the man had told Percy that he had tipped off the FBI. The only thing that stopped him from tracking Stark down to beat the shit out of him was his admittedly impenetrable security and the comfort that he would just have to get Peter his own suit.

“Sounds like my mentor Stick,” Matt replied, for lack of anything better to say. “Didn’t think I was ready for anything and then got mad when I tried to prove him wrong.” 

Percy was quick to defend Stark. “I think Tony was just scared. People do stupid things when they’re scared. He’s been a lot better since then.”

Matt hummed noncommittally. “If you say so.” He flashed a bloodthirsty grin. “Though if you ever want me to beat the shit out of him, I’m sure the others and I could figure out a way into his compound.”

Percy snorted. “We’ll see.”

***

“Again,” Matt grunted as Percy practiced his technique using the punching mitts. They had learned quickly that due to his super strength they needed to practice different amounts of force proportionate to his opponent so he didn’t put all of his strength into a blow that would end up killing them. 

“Ya se esto, no necesito practicar más,” Percy said exasperated. _‘I know this already, I don’t need to practice more.’_ Matt wasn’t impressed. As soon as he had learned about his struggles in Spanish, he had immediately taken it upon himself to tutor the kid. Plus it made good cover for their weekly training sessions.

“Siempre debes practicar cuando tú puedas. Tienes un prueba mañana, si o no?” Matt shot back. _‘You should always practice when you can. You have a quiz tomorrow, yes or no?’_

Percy groaned but dutifully started to recite the conjugations for the past subjunctive. 

***

At their next meeting, Matt told Percy that they were going on a field trip instead of training that night. He led him through Hell’s Kitchen silently, though it was obsolete with Percy’s rambling.

“This is it, you’re finally going to kill me.”

“No.”

“That’s exactly what someone planning to kill me would say.”

“Shut up.”

When they finally got to the dilapidated warehouse, Matt was half tempted to try and kill him anyway. But, it would have defeated the purpose of their trip so he reluctantly shelved the idea of killing a minor. Matt rapped on the back door. There was scrambling from inside before the door opened. He gave a grin that was mostly teeth.

“Hello, Melvin.”

“D-daredevil. How can I help you?”

Matt gestured vaguely in Percy’s direction. He didn’t say anything but knowing the kid, he was probably waving awkwardly. “I was wondering if you could do the same thing for him that you did for me. Please.”

There was a moment of silence before he accepted and ushered them inside before anyone could see. The kid, who had caught on quickly to what he was trying to do, started to protest but a look from Matt had him falling silent. He did request that there be an extra layer between the armor so he could add in the tech that his current suit had. Melvin quickly took Percy’s measurements and then promised to call once it was done. The entire process had barely taken an hour and Matt was grateful for the man’s efficiency. 

The kid waited until they were back in Fogwell’s before he exploded. “Who was that? Why are you making me a suit?”

“That was Melvin Potter,” he answered calmly. “He made my suit and now he’s making you one so you don’t die during one of your fights.”

He had a very strong suspicion that Percy was beaming at him. That was proven correct when he barreled into Matt’s chest and hugged him tightly. “Thank you!”

Matt just chuckled. “No problem.”

***

Matt heard Percy cheer when he finally took off his shirt because the heat had been stuck on max in the building and it was getting stuffy. Until then, he had stubbornly kept his shirt on after a remark about not getting sweaty during training.

“You are human!” he crowed. “I was beginning to wonder if you just didn’t feel temperature.”

“I don’t,” Matt snarked as he poured water on top of his head before sitting down for a break. “I decided to lower myself to the plights of you pathetic mortals out of pity.”

“Oh no, I feel so sorry for you,” Percy responded tonelessly. There Matt could feel the kid shift to face him. “Cool tattoo,” he commented.

Matt was confused for all of ten seconds before he remembered the set of scales over his heart that he’d had for as long as he could remember. His hand subconsciously came up to rub the spot. “Thanks.”

***

“Hey kid,” Matt called out as they were leaving the gym one night. He sensed Percy pause and steeled himself. “Call me Matt.”

He knew the kid well enough to assume that he was grinning wildly. The kid had barely called him Mike as it was, preferring inane nicknames like teach or even Red.

“Peter,” he returned and Matt couldn’t stop his own smile from spreading.

The next time they saw each other which was only three days later because they had upped their meetings to twice a week to actually include tutoring, they had an unspoken agreement to hold off on training until they could do reintroductions properly. 

“Peter Parker,” he offered. “Junior at Midtown High and all around badass.”

His lips quirked upwards. “Matt Murdock, of Nelson & Murdock, attorney at law and all around mess.” 

“Red! You made a funny!” Peter called incredulously. He nodded resolutely. “That’s it, I’ve officially declared myself a good influence.”

“I don’t think it works that way.”

“What do you know? You’re only a lawyer.”

“And you’re only a teenager.”

Matt only laughed harder when he dodged the boxing glove Peter threw at him.

***

“Red!” Matt heard Peter call out as he entered the gym through the doors rather than the window. “I’ve found your next two victims.”

Ah, he remembered now. Peter had asked last time if he could bring his friends. Privately, he thought that they were all too young but it wouldn’t get him anywhere to voice these thoughts. “Lured in from off the streets undoubtedly.”

“You know me so well,” Peter cooed, though he was much closer. How the kid moved without him hearing was still baffling.

“I’m Impulse, but you can call me Zoë for now,” a female voice called out from his right. He nodded towards the vague impression he could see. The name was a lie, judging by the skip in her heart but he wouldn’t ask her for the truth until there was trust between them.

He didn’t need to say anything because the person to his left called her out anyway. “Peter said we can trust him so I don’t see the need for fake names. I go by Wraith but my name is Nico di Angelo.”

Matt nodded again. “Matt Murdock.”

Zoë groaned. “Thalia,” she offered but omitted her last name.

“Nice to meet you,” he said genially. 

“Cool, cool, cool,” Peter interrupted. “Now that that’s out of the way, which of you wants to get your butt kicked first.”

There was a moment of silence before Thalia spoke up and Matt was almost taken aback by the sheer glee in her voice. “Let’s go, old man.”

“Thalia,” Peter called once they were in the ring, “no powers.”

Matt barely had time to remember that she even _had_ powers before she was attacking him. He dodged easily and aimed a blow for her torso as he ducked under her arm. 

Compared to Peter when he first started, Thalia was better at hand to hand by _miles_. She knew how to distribute her weight evenly and roll with her punches to give them more power. Her fighting style reminded him of a street kid. Like Peter, she seemed more used to long-range fighting but she wasn’t afraid to try and slip under his guard. Also like Peter, she left that _space_ between them, where a weapon or something would normally go.

The match went on a few minutes longer than Peter’s however when Thalia tried a move to knock him down it backfired and ended with her face in the mat and her arm twisted behind her. She accepted his hand to help her up and he could hear the grudging respect in her voice when she thanked him.

“You’re impressive,’’ he complimented, “I’m sure we both have things to teach the other.” It seemed like the right thing to say because she was warmer towards him for the rest of the night. 

Fighting Nico was much the same. There was something about the three of them that made him think they all had some form of prior training from the same person. It was in the way they instinctively moved and how they all seemed used to fighting with a weapon. It drove Matt to his wit’s end trying to figure it out. 

***

Foggy knew that something had changed with his friend sometime in the past two months. He smiled more and didn’t seem as weighed down. Just that morning he had suggested they go out for an early lunch rather than working through it and generally ignoring anything good for his health. His first thought was that Matt was dating someone but that wouldn’t require this level of secrecy. Still, he knew better than to press and he would wait until either Matt felt comfortable sharing or it blew up in his face and he and Karen needed to drag his ass out of the fire.

Foggy was telling Karen yet another story of one of Matt’s more embarrassing college exploits while the man in question just laughed. They had just stopped outside the door while Karen messed with the lock when Matt’s countenance went blank and he silently placed a hand on Karen’s shoulder to stop her. He held a finger up to his lips before tapping his ear and gesturing towards the office.

“Shit,” Foggy cursed softly, hearing rustling coming from inside that was probably crystal clear to Matt. “Do you think it’s someone trying to warn us off a case?”

“There are three people, judging by heartbeats,” Matt replied, listening intently. He growled when he heard them speak again. “They aren’t here because of a case. And we won’t have to worry about them because they’re going to be dead soon.”

Foggy felt a spike of alarm and exchanged a panicked glance with Karen before they started to protest. Matt ignored them and pushed his way into the office, leaving them to follow. He turned on the lights and was met with the rather comical sight of three teens fighting over a donut which he assumed came from the box that had been sitting next to the coffee machine.

“Jesus, Matt, they’re just kids!” He exclaimed when his best friend still looked murderous.

“Matt!” All three of the teens cried simultaneously, leaving Foggy feeling bewildered and more confused than ever. 

“Wait,” Karen cut in, “do you _know_ them?”

The boy with light brown hair gasped dramatically. “Did you not tell them about us?”

“For shame, Matthew, for shame,” the boy with dark hair scolded. Foggy noticed his best friend had his hands in his head, looking completely exasperated but somewhat… fond. The same smile that he had noticed on his face for the past two months was back and the pieces were slowly starting to fall into place. 

“I’m Peter and these are my cousins Thalia and Nico,” the brown-haired boy introduced, gesturing to the girl and the boy with black hair respectively. 

There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Foggy remembered his manners. “I’m Foggy Nelson.”

“Karen Page.” She smiled curiously at them. “So, how do you know Matt?”

“Oh, he’s our dad,” Thalia said casually, like she hadn’t just made Foggy’s world _implode_.

_“What?”_ He wasn’t sure if the sound he made was human or some undecipherable screech.

“Unfortunate for me,” Matt deadpanned.

“Matt, they’re like half your age,” Karen said incredulously. “They can’t be your kids.” 

“She’s exaggerating,” Nico explained.

The weight on Foggy’s chest lessened slightly and he felt significantly less at risk for a heart attack. Still, he took a seat before one of them gave more news that would make him collapse.

“Why are you here?” Matt finally asked.

The teens all glanced at each other, both unsubtly and suspiciously, before Peter forcefully chuckled. Foggy noted the way he rubbed the back of his neck, an obvious tell for lying. “You weren’t answering your phone?”

“You realize that you need to actually call me in order for me to answer the phone?” 

Silence. 

“We saw a shady thing and you told us to get you if we were ever dealing with anything more serious than weed?” Nico offered hesitantly. 

Alarm bells immediately started ringing in Foggy’s ears. He held out his hand as he tried to process the new direction his thoughts were taking him in. “I’m sorry, but why would you three _specifically_ be dealing with drug dealers? And why would you be bringing _Matt_?” As far as these kids were aware, Matt was just a blind lawyer. _Unless_… He turned to his best friend and even though he couldn’t see his facial expression, mustered up his best bitch face. A glance at Karen showed that she had also come to the same conclusion, based on the horror displayed there. 

“Matt,” he started dangerously, in the same tone he used when they were fresh out of law school and Matt decided to get drunk the night before their big interviews, “do these kids know?” He left it vague for even the slightest fraction of hope that they didn’t.

The way he grimaced was enough of an answer for Foggy. 

“Why are you encouraging _children_ to become vigilantes?” Oh, Foggy winced at Karen’s tone. She was obviously keeping her anger in until the kids left but he did _not_ envy the yelling match that was going to happen after.

“We were already vigilantes before we met Red,” Thalia defended, though he wasn’t sure if she was defending her friends or Matt. “And we’re not going to stop so he’s helping us learn hand-to-hand.” Both, it seemed.

“I haven’t heard of you.” Foggy’s pretty sure three pint-sized vigilantes running around one of the boroughs and beating people up would have made the news.

It was a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of moment when Nico disappeared. There was a tap on his shoulder from behind him and Foggy instinctively jumped even before he turned around to see the kid standing behind him. He didn’t shriek. He didn’t.

“Wraith,” he said simply, which honestly was kind of a terrifying name for a fifteen-year-old kid. He _had_ heard of him then, and the glimpse he had caught on the news station made his thoughts jump to the Dementors from Harry Potter. 

Peter chose that moment to jump onto the ceiling and despite the bizarre situation Foggy almost groaned as he tried to think up a way to explain why there were footprints where footprints really had no business of being. “I’m Spider-Man.”

There was a suspicious cough from Matt. “Kid Spider.”

Ignoring the glare Peter was giving his friend, Foggy turned to look at Thalia expectantly.

She sniffed. “What? Do you want me to destroy the room with a lightning bolt?”

“Let’s not.”

“Anyway,” Nico interrupted, trying to get the conversation back on track, “we were wondering if we could steal Matt for an hour.”

He looked ready to protest but Foggy was quick to cut in. “We’ll take care of everything till you get back. Just be here in time for our meeting this afternoon and text if you can’t.”

After a few more minutes of goodbyes, the teens finally dragged Matt out of the office. As soon as they were gone, Foggy slumped in his chair and put his head in his hands. “I don’t understand how he gets into these situations.”

Karen, the traitor, had absolutely no sympathy for him. “You have to admit they’re good for him.”

He sighed, because he really couldn’t refute that. “Yeah, they are.”

***

Matt was curious as he let Peter, Thalia, and Nico drag him through Hell’s Kitchen until they reached a seemingly abandoned building. There were no noticeable heartbeats coming from inside so whatever ‘shady thing’ they saw, the perpetrators were long gone. 

“What did you three _really_ drag me here for?”

“Okay okay,” Peter began, and he immediately knew this was going to be a long explanation, “so we were talking to our Aunt about you and your name _might_ have come up and she said she recognized it but you were really young when she met you and you had just had your accident.”

Well, that was- not what he was expecting but not entirely dramatic. “You said she was a nurse, right?”

“We might have lied,” Thalia admitted. He thought he would have noticed if they were lying but it wasn’t like he was constantly focusing on their heartbeats. He couldn’t even remember which of them had said their Aunt- which he figured was just an honorific and not an actual blood relation- was a nurse. 

Nico answered his unspoken question, though it sounded pained. “She’s actually a millennia-old Greek Goddess.”

Matt’s hearing shorted out for a second as he took in everything that statement implied. Obviously, the kids had been drugged. Or done drugs. Or maybe _he_ had been drugged and just didn’t remember it and the entire thing was a fever dream.

“Judging by your facial expression, you don’t believe us.” Matt went to say something, _anything_ when one of them grabbed onto his arm and his vision turned from red to black and the floor fell from underneath him. The sensation lasted less than a minute before he felt solid ground again. He could immediately tell that he was somewhere different than before. Where there had been silence, his ears were assaulted with a cacophony of heartbeats, voices, and more. The force of it caused him to stumble as he tried to sort through the onslaught of noise. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a case of sensory overstimulation this bad. 

“Nico!” The sharp reprimand came from an unfamiliar woman’s voice. His head was still cloudy but he recognized the name well enough to infer that the kid had probably transported him with his powers. “He’s obviously overwhelmed, what did you think you were doing shadow-traveling him without warning?”

“Sorry, Hestia,” came the chastised response from right next to him. It was enough to make him stumble again. 

Before he could trip and fall, there was a warm arm guiding him. He leaned into the touch involuntarily. It reminded him of nights at home with his father after he had won a fight and they would watch highlights on their crappy old tv. Nights from before his accident that made watching the highlights impossible, even if he could listen to them. “The couch is right over here, Matthew. You can sit for a minute and regain your bearings, then we’ll talk.”

“Who are you?” he asked when he finally finished the old exercises that Stick had given him to control his senses.

The woman on the couch shifted but didn’t touch him. “My name is Hestia. I am the Greek Goddess of the hearth.”

Matt was about to deny it but stayed silent and actually thought about it. If Norse gods were real, why couldn’t the Greek gods be real as well? “What does- they said you had met me before?”

This time she did lay her hand over his but it was more comforting than he would have thought. “You were very young, it happened shortly after the accident that took your sight. We gave you a small blessing that masked your scent from monsters so you could live a normal life. Peter, Thalia, and Nico all have similar blessings that are anchored in a magical brand.”

His hands involuntarily went to his heart, where he knew the scales of justice were imprinted into his skin. He had always glossed over their existence but now that he was thinking about it, he couldn’t actually remember how he had gotten them. As for why the gods had given him the brand… “Is my mother a goddess then?”

“My niece Dike, the daughter of Themis and Zeus and the goddess of justice,” she confirmed. “Athena owed her a favor and she used it so you could grow up in peace.”

Hestia went on to explain the Ancient Laws as being the reason his mother couldn’t interact with him. She told him about the dangers of monsters and that normal demigods went to Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood to train by the time they were twelve. She even discussed the recent events that brought the two together. With people like the Avengers and SHIELD, he was surprised to learn that no one even knew these wars took place. Some distant part of his brain even connected training at the Camps with the reason the three teens fought like they used swords was because they did.

When she was finally done, his head was swimming with the new information he’d learned. There was still one thing though. “Why tell me now?” he asked. “Even if I was interacting with Thalia, Peter, and Nico, you didn’t have to tell me.”

There was a moment of silence. “The Olympians have always granted themselves leeway with the Ancient Laws. A visit or two, maybe a gift. The punishment for the minor gods was more severe. After the two wars, there have been more interactions between the gods and their children as well as recognition to the minor gods. When my niece and nephews told me about you, I could not begrudge you of the opportunity to meet your mother. If that is your desire.”

If Matt thought his head was spinning before, it was nothing compared to now. He could meet his mother. The woman his father had barely talked about growing up. Who hadn’t actually left him but had stayed away for his own good. His voice was uncharacteristically soft when he spoke. “I’d like that.”

“Then I’ll arrange it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I love writing me some DevilDad. What do you think of Matt being a demigod? I know his mom was a nun in the show but I was researching minor gods and found her and it was too perfect to pass up. Her name, Dike, is pronounced like dye-kee. Would you want to see their interaction in a future chapter? Or should I leave it as is?
> 
> I used my own experience of high school Spanish for the tutoring scene but I'm still learning so if I got it wrong please lmk!
> 
> We're officially at the halfway point! 
> 
> Let me know what you think  
<3 voidfangirl


	16. Chapter 16

**Junior Year: Spring Break**

**bi-der man** (3:17 pm)

> _im boreeeedd_

**wakanda’s hbic** (3:20 pm)

> _okay and???_

**bi-der man** (3:20 pm)

> _come save me pls_

**wakanda’s hbic** (3:21 pm)

> _perish_

**bi-der man** (3:21 pm)

> _:(_

**wakanda’s hbic** (3:21 pm)

> _you can go ahead and stop_   
_I know you’re doing that stupid puppy dog face_   
_it wont work on me_

**bi-der man** (3:21 pm)

> _:(_

**wakanda’s hbic** (3:22 pm)

> _pathetic fool_   
_fiiiineeee_   
_I was going to ask if you wanted to come to wakanda for the rest of the week anyway_

**bi-der man** (3:23 pm)

> _yaaaaayyyy_   
_:)))))_

**wakanda’s hbic** (3:24 pm)

> _I take it back_

***

The first thing Peter saw as the shadows receded around him was an empty hangar. Sliding off of Mrs. O’Leary, he checked the time to ensure that he wasn’t late or somehow early. A quick glance confirmed that it was in fact, five o’clock New York time and midnight Wakanda time. He gave Mrs. O’Leary a thankful pat on the head and a small treat before sending her off. The hangar was strangely silent, which immediately put his instincts on edge. This place always had someone in it, even if it was just a lone scientist or pilot. 

There was a dull thud from behind him. “Hello there.”

“General Kenobi,” he was already replying, even as he turned around to face Shuri. “You are a bold one.”

There was a moment of silence as they simply stared at each other but Peter cracked first, his mouth twisting into a grin. “The prequels? Really?”

Shuri sniffed in faux indignance. “Like you don’t binge Clone Wars.”

“You got me there,” he agreed easily, because really, what Star Wars fan _didn’t_ watch Clone Wars? She gestured for him to pick up his bag and started leading him to his room, presumably the same one he stayed in last time. As they were walking Peter had a brilliant idea. “Let’s recreate the fight from Mustafar and post it on Twitter.”

Shuri was obviously skeptical. “Did both of us suddenly master lightsaber moves overnight and I simply wasn’t aware of it?” 

Peter smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I… may have memorized some of the basic forms with my sword. And we can practice all week and then film the day before I leave.”

He didn’t have to look at her to know she had been won over. It was unlikely that she was even going to say no in the first place; it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. “I would have to modify them so they couldn’t actually hurt us. But I get to be Obi-Wan.”

“Naturally.”

***

The next day forced Peter up at noon, despite how much he wanted to stay in bed. Before she had left him at his door last night, Shuri had promised to get started on the lightsaber modifications while he slept off the jetlag. 

When he finally stumbled down to the labs, much to the amusement of every staff member and guard he passed, he was still rubbing the crust from his eyes. Shuri’s eyes were dancing with mirth but she gestured to the small break room where there was a small selection of foods and even a brazier for him to sacrifice a portion of his meal.

“Thanks,” he said tiredly. After he had successfully inhaled his breakfast, he was feeling decidedly more energetic and ready for human interaction.

“Finally rejoin the land of the living?” Shuri asked, not looking up from the screen of her tablet. 

“Coming back from the Underworld is much easier than recovering from jetlag. It’s coming back from the Pit that you really got to watch out for,” he retorted, trying to keep the smug grin off of his face.

Shuri stilled for a moment before continuing to run calculations. “I hate you,” she said tonelessly but Peter knew he wasn’t imagining the quirk of her lips.

It had become something of a game between them. She would make some mundane comment and he would try to throw her off by citing experience from a quest that actually made it applicable. Since most of his quests were filled by him almost dying, it was undeniably morbid. Shuri, obviously familiar with Gen Z humor, just laughed but Okoye had already taken him aside and asked if he wanted to see one of their therapists. Peter turned down her offer but only for the moment; he was waiting to see how long it would take before one of his comments made it back to T’Challa and the King tried to address the issue.

“How’re the modifications coming?”

She ran him through the basic model of the lightsaber and how she created it. The science behind it was a little _too_ much for Peter to understand but he thought he managed to follow along pretty well. 

“So, the problem is that the lowest temperature the vibranium can reach while retaining the glow would still give us third-degree burns if we got hit,” Shuri concluded. 

A weight settled on Peter’s chest. He was quick to mask the disappointment and tried to think of possible solutions. “Can I see them?”

She nodded and led him to one of the testing rooms that had the lightsabers sitting on display. Peter couldn’t help but stop to admire them. They were fairly plain, with a black hilt that seemed to be made of some sort of rubber that acted as an insulator for the device inside that heated the short vibranium saber blade. Despite their nondescript appearance, it made a part of his heart light up in childish glee. 

The grip of the hilt was different than he was used to but comfortable. He got into a basic stance and faced the front of the room. He couldn’t help himself; he took a deep breath to center his focus and imagined he was drawing upon the Force, flicking the switch in the hilt with his thumb and watching with wide eyes as the blade shone a brilliant white. He glanced at Shuri to make sure she was behind him before taking a few experimental swings. He was only a little ashamed to admit that he squeaked in excitement as it made the tell-tale hum of a lightsaber. 

From his peripheral vision, he saw Shuri step up next to him and activate her own lightsaber before slowly moving to be across from him. 

“I think I’m in Elysium,” he confessed. “You’ve fulfilled eight-year-old me’s dream.”

There was a challenge in Shuri’s eyes. “Hit mine. Just once, so we can see what it feels like.”

He relented almost immediately but still took a step back so their blades would barely cross in order to minimize the chance of accidentally hitting her. He took another calming breath and he swung his saber at the same time Shuri swung hers. The reverb of the blow traveled further up his arm than Peter expected, catching him off guard. He moved out of his basic stance and glanced appraisingly at the lightsaber. The harsh light left imprints across his eyes when he looked away. Shuri lowered her own lightsaber, also a blinding white, and grinned maniacally. 

“There’s no way we aren’t going to have a lightsaber fight.”

After safely stowing the lightsabers on their display, they went back to the break room to brainstorm (and eat their weight in sour patch kids.) They had progressed to tossing gummy worms into each other’s mouths when Peter finally had a good idea.

“What if we created a hollow lightsaber hilt and stored nanobots inside of it? It would be like the Black Panther suit but they would just build off of themselves to create a solid blade,” he exclaimed in a rush. 

Shuri seemed to catch his drift and scrambled up, nodding her head emphatically. “The nanobots can change color and it would be easy to modify them to glow.”

“And we can customize the hilts-”

“So we have individual lightsabers!”

They glanced at each other for a minute, both of them grinning just a little maniacally before making a dash for their tablets to get started as quickly as possible. They worked well past dinner, only stopping for snacks until they were finally rendered on the computer and sent to be modelled out of actual vibranium. Shuri and Peter collapsed onto the couch in the break room, completely exhausted but still smiling. 

“If I ever see another CAD program I will throw up,” Peter exclaimed dramatically. 

“Worth it.”

“Oh, a hundred percent.”

***

“And you’re sure this won’t kill me?” Shuri asked for close to the hundredth time. 

Peter wasn’t sure what else he could do to reassure her. “Skateboarding is one of life’s greatest pleasures,” is what he finally settled on. “And just think of it this way: by learning how to skateboard you become three times more powerful.”

There were a lot fewer complaints after that.

***

T’Challa was walking down the hall towards the council room, not really rushing but also determined to not get distracted. He was scrolling through a report from the border tribe, not finding anything too unusual or warrant for concern. 

A noise not unlike the pulse his suit let out when it was charged with kinetic energy caught his attention and he slowed to a stop against his better judgment. The noise repeated again, closer and this time in a series. From around the corner, Shuri and Peter appeared, dueling with lightsabers. T’Challa bit back a groan, unsure of why he was surprised. He wasn’t sure if the day he and Tony had introduced them (officially because they had already met when Percy showed up) was one of his biggest regrets or one of his best ideas. He hadn’t seen his little sister this happy in years, if not ever. Peter was one of the first people her own age who actually understood what she was saying and that made them immediately click. He was sure that their shared love for pop culture and ‘memes’ played no small part. 

“Please refrain from destroying the palace,” he called out as they passed, more out of habit than any actual concern. 

“Yes, Mr. T’Challa, sir.” Peter saluted dutifully; at this point, he wasn’t sure if the boy was being genuine or had mastered sarcasm so perfectly that it was impossible to tell. He had a strange suspicion that it was somehow both.

“You worry too much brother,” Shuri said glibly before gliding down the hallway. Peter followed after her, both of them wielding lightsabers that looked far too realistic for his comfort. It wasn’t until they were out of sight and he was standing there for two minutes staring after them that he came to a couple of realizations. One: he had managed to get distracted and was about to be late to the council meeting. Two: Shuri was wearing her Heelys again, which meant they were all in trouble.

He wondered if it would be an abuse of power to ban the things from the country. 

***

Shuri was avoiding him. 

It was a plain fact. She had started acting sketchy sometime during the middle of the week. She had taken to spending a couple of hours each day in her lab in ‘meetings’ while Peter languished idly in his room. 

They were moving through the halls of the palace, dueling with their lightsabers (he still hadn’t gotten over how well they turned out) and he figured it was the perfect opportunity to interrogate her.

“Why are you avoiding me?” he blurted and immediately winced because _wow_ that sounded way more accusatory than he meant it to be. 

“I’m not avoiding you,” she denied.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Your heartbeat says you’re lying.”

There was a brief pause as some workers passed through the middle of their duel, not even batting an eye. 

“That’s cheating.”

“It’s using my resources.” When it didn’t look like she would relent, his tone turned pleading. “Please? What’d I do wrong?”

He thought he saw a brief flash of guilt on her face before she looked resigned, her posture slumped and lips pursed. “You won’t tell anyone? Even Tony?”

He nodded. “If it’s that important then I won’t.”

“Steve Rogers arrived a couple of days to check on the progress of Bucky Barnes,” she finally admitted. 

Peter dropped his lightsaber and deactivated it, completely caught off guard. He probably should have felt alarmed, or even panicked. After all, these _were_ wanted war criminals who had fought against Tony. But considering he had spent more than his fair share of time as a wanted fugitive, he didn’t really have a right to judge. He cocked his head curiously. “Progress?”

“We’ve been working to get rid of the trigger words implanted by Hydra,” Shuri said, and there was a challenge in her voice like she dared him to think what she was doing wasn’t justified or right. 

“Cool,” he said simply and raised his lightsaber again. Shuri’s eyes widened and she only narrowly dodged his saber.

“That’s it?” she asked skeptically.

“That’s it,” he confirmed. “It’s cool you guys are helping him.” And it was _cool_, though that word didn’t describe it nearly enough. He had read enough about the Winter Soldier program from the leaked Hydra files to know that the guy had no consent about what he went through at all. That Wakanda had the technology available to remove implanted trigger words was _incredible_. It made him wonder if it only worked for that or if it could be extended to all forms of PTSD. Gods knew that he had his own plethora of trigger words and situations. _‘Huh, maybe I should take up Okoye’s offer for therapy,’_ he thought mildly. 

When he got back to his room that night, he tried to take the time to actually think about what he was feeling for once rather than pushing it down. He’d had hours to think about Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes but his emotions never seemed to untangle themselves from the mess in his mind. The prospect of actually facing them seemed to be the strongest motivator for actually focusing. 

Back during the mess of the Sokovia Accords, he’d turned down Tony’s request to fight because he thought forcing enhanced individuals and Inhumans to register was wrong. It had made him wary of Tony, at least somewhere in the back of his mind; he’d looked up to the man as a genius but anyone who would condone that rubbed him the wrong way. Now, of course, he had seen firsthand the aftermath of Tony’s sleepless nights trying to fix the Accords to make them beneficial for everyone while still reigning in the Avengers. 

Personally, his own experience with Gaea and every time he was accused of breaking the law while trying to save someone made the whole thing seem like a bad idea. He knew better than most that saving the world normally meant people dying and pissing off people that held a lot of power.

So, he wasn’t _mad_ at Steve Rogers for opposing the Sokovia Accords. He couldn’t even be mad at the man for keeping such a big secret from Tony, even though he wanted to be. He was guilty of the same thing after all. The thing that bothered him, the detail that his mind kept pulling at was the fact that he left Tony to die in Siberia and he didn’t know _why_. What would possess someone, who by all rights and purposes, was supposed to be the definition of loyalty, to fight against their friend and leave him to his fate?

He had a strong suspicion that the answer lay with Bucky Barnes. He was all too familiar with that type of personal loyalty. It was that loyalty that was responsible for him falling with Annabeth into the Pit and for giving the dagger to Luke because he saw his old friend through the gold shine of Kronos’ eyes during the Battle of Manhattan. But he’d never been faced with the situation of having to decide who he was more loyal to when it came to his friends. So what made Rogers choose a man he hadn’t seen for decades over the man who had given him a new home and family after he had woken up from the ice?

The question filled Peter with a burning need to know the answer. He knew he didn’t necessarily like Rogers, but he was willing to talk to him if it meant he _finally_ got some answers.

***

“It’s not that I don’t trust you but…” Shuri trailed off as they stood outside the door of her lab. There were only two heartbeats coming from inside and Peter knew exactly who they belonged to.

He tried to give a reassuring smile but it felt more like a grimace. “You’ll be there to mediate, won’t you?” He did a full body shake, trying to get rid of the not entirely pleasant thrumming anticipation and curiosity of meeting the two super-soldiers. “Alright, let’s get this over with. I promise not to do any lasting physical damage.”

Shuri’s eyes went wide but before she could protest he was opening the door and walking inside. His first thought upon seeing Roger’s and Barnes was immediately, _‘damn they’re hot.’_ Rogers looked less like the boy scout he imagined and more like a really buff dad. He had the beginnings of a beard, not quite a five o’clock shadow but not enough to be a full-grown beard. He was wearing a plain black turtleneck that did nothing to hide his muscles. There was a spark of _something_ in his eyes that reminded Peter of Jason, all righteousness and indignation when he saw something wrong in the world before taking it upon himself to fix. 

Barnes was less put together but no less attractive. His hair fell to his shoulders, pulled half up and half down into a bun. He had a full beard that looked groomed and shaped. He was wearing a plain smock with a belt that Peter vaguely recognized as being styled after the River Tribe. His left arm was covered by a length of fabric that crossed along his body and knotted at the right side. 

For all that Rogers seemed to embody Jason, Barnes reminded him painfully of Nico after Bianca died or when he was shadow-traveling across Europe and looked this close to becoming one himself. Barnes’ eyes had the same haunted glaze, and though his cheeks were full, he still looked haggard as if he barely slept at night. If this was the result after almost a year with the Wakandan scientists, Peter struggled to think of what he looked like before. Much like with his cousin, he was hit with the strong urge to wrap the man in a warm blanket so the Fates could stop hurting him. 

He shook his head slightly and refocused on Shuri as she introduced him. “Bucky, Steve, this is Peter Parker, he’s…” she trailed off, an indication for him to decide how much he wanted to share. 

“Tony’s my mentor,” he stated simply and watched the way that Rogers’s face scrunched up in clear confusion. He also caught the way that Barnes tensed and looked ready to bolt so he gave him a reassuring smile to try and calm him down. It seemed to have worked because he smiled genuinely back, even if it was tentative.

“When you say Tony is your mentor-” Rogers started, but Peter cut him off.

“It’s nice to meet you. I was hoping to ask you some questions but first…”

He reared his hand back and rammed it into Rogers’s face. His head snapped to the side and the force of the punch caused him to stumble. Peter massaged his hand for a moment before he turned to Shuri and Barnes and calmly said, “Okay, I’m ready now.”

Surprisingly, Barnes started to laugh when Rogers looked up and they all saw the very large and obvious bruise along his cheek. “Damn, the kid got you good Stevie.”

“Aw, shut up, you jerk,” Rogers complained, reaching up to gingerly prod at the bruise, though the fondness was obvious in his tone. When he looked back at Peter he seemed to go through some sort of realization. “You’re enhanced.” It wasn’t a question. “Which means Tony’s been helping train you, to control your powers.”

He smiled affably. “Among other things.”

Rogers must have easily sensed his unwillingness to discuss it further because he quickly dropped it. “Still, it’s a hell of a right hook. Where are you from?”

“Queens.”

“Brooklyn,” Rogers responded in kind. 

Peter took the time to crack a smile at the small connection before remembering why they were there. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “I know.”

The mood of the room returned to somber at his tone. Rogers sighed. “Look, kid-”

“I just want to know why,” Peter said firmly. “Why did you leave him in Siberia?”

“I didn’t-”

“But you did,” he insisted. “What did you think would happen to him in a non-functioning metal suit in the middle of winter?” Peter kept his tone calm and hoped it would encourage the super-soldiers to share. 

Rogers bit his lip and glanced at Barnes. “It’s a lot more complicated than-”

Peter crossed his arms and leaned back against the lab table. “Then _uncomplicate_ it.” 

“Steve,” Barnes said softly, and the look of trust and acceptance in his tired eyes made Peter’s stomach churn in guilt. “You can tell him.”

So Rogers did. He explained how they had chased Zemo to the facility in Siberia to stop him from getting the other super-soldiers and Tony had followed them. The entire thing had been a trap from the start, with the soldiers already dead on arrival and Zemo waiting in a secure bunker as he showed him the video of the Winter Soldier killing Tony’s parents. The entire thing was made worse by the fact that Rogers _knew_ and had never told Tony. Tony had, understandably, lashed out which led to a fight between the two of them and him.

“Before we left, I asked T’Challa to make sure that he was okay and transmit his location,” Rogers explained, which caused something in Peter’s chest to unclench. “I’ve still regretted what happened in Siberia every day since then. Tony was- is my friend and I want to fix this, I just… don’t know how.”

Peter wondered for a split second how Rogers could have ever hidden that from Tony before he remembered his own secret and his guilt doubled. Throughout the entire thing, Rogers had looked at Barnes with such love and devotion that it reminded Peter of the way he used to look at Annabeth. Like he wouldn’t care where they went, as long as they were together. 

_‘So, that’s why,’_ Peter thought, and really it should have been obvious. He had never imagined Captain America being anything other than straight but he had spent many a history class staring at his poster wishing it were true. 

He tried to imagine himself in that situation with Annabeth. If he found out that she had been alive this entire time, tortured and brainwashed into fighting against everything she believed in, he would have been furious. Beyond furious really, but there wasn’t any word that could describe how he would feel. Even though it was purely hypothetical, it filled him with the type of rage that could tear down mountains and flood cities. If one of his friends had tried to attack her, to take her from him, he _knew_. that logical reasoning would fly out of the window. It would be like Misery in the Pit all over again, but this time with nothing stopping him.

“I- thank you for telling me, because things make _a lot_ more sense now,” Peter said haltingly. “I’m not going to judge you for whatever choices you made. I wasn’t there for any of it, I’ve just seen the aftermath. I can’t tell you how to fix it but I have a feeling that it wouldn’t be a good idea to try just yet. I don’t think it’s _unfixable_, I just think that now’s not the right time.”

“I- thank you.” And Rogers really did look grateful, something like hope lighting up his face.

Peter nodded solemnly. “I just want him to be happy.”

***

The rest of the week seemed to fly by after that. Peter didn’t run into Barnes and Rogers again, but Shuri reassured him that they were just spending as much time together as they could.

He and Shuri recorded their video while he was in the Spider-Suit and posted it on Twitter. As expected, it absolutely blew up the internet and Peter felt a very visceral glee when he saw actual GIFS of it on Tumblr only a few hours later. 

The final day before he left, Peter sought out Rogers while he was in the lab waiting on Barnes as Shuri ran a few final tests. 

“Hey, Queens,” he greeted. 

“Captain Rogers.” Peter smiled, much warmer than the first day. “I’m leaving today and just wanted to say bye. Also to thank you for explaining what happened.”

“Thank you for listening. We appreciate it." Steve said, smiling warmly. “If there happens to be anything I could do for you, let Shuri know and she can try to reach me.”

Peter rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. “Actually, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor.”

“Of course.” Rogers looked way too serious for what he was about to ask.

Peter could feel his ears turning red as he pulled out a Captain America trading card. “I was wondering if you could autograph this for my cousin?”

Rogers blinked and a blush spread over his face but he dutifully took the card and signed the bottom of it. “Who should I make it out to?”

“Nico, that’s N-i-c-o,” Peter said, blushing harder, much to his embarrassment.

“What’s going on out here?” Barnes asked as he and Shuri exited the lab. From the teasing tone, he knew _exactly_ what was going on. 

Peter smiled awkwardly and pulled out a Bucky Barnes card as he took the Cap one back. “I was asking for an autograph for my cousin.”

Bucky looked taken aback that he was asking him but there was a pleased glint in his eye. As Peter held it out for him to sign, a quick glance at Shuri (who was barely hiding her laughter) sent him scrambling to explain. “He grew up in Italy during the war, and even though talk of Captain America was generally banned, the stories that did get through gave him hope for the future.”

Bucky paused from where he had just finished signing the card. “How old is your cousin?”

Peter cursed himself for not thinking, but what else was new? He tried to come up with an excuse and when he drew a blank decided the truth was good enough. He smiled genially. “He’s fifteen. Also eighty-three. I guess you three have a bit in common. Anyways, it was nice to meet you. I’ll see you guys around!”

Peter walked calmly (he did _not_ run, that was not a thing that happened) past them and hid in his room until it was time to go, which was when he met Shuri in the hangar.

“Thanks for leaving me with the curious grandpas,” she snarked.

“I’ll make it up to you?”

“You better.” She paused. “You’ll have to come back soon, it’s dreadfully boring without you.”

“Maybe next time I’ll bring my cousins,” Peter promised.

“Ah yes, I’m curious to meet the fifteen eighty-three-year-old.” 

“I’ll tell you about it later.”

“You better,” she repeated as he mounted Mrs. O’Leary. The last view he had was of her grinning mischievously before it gave way to the shadows.

When he got back to the apartment later that night, Thalia was on the couch watching a movie. She looked up when she saw him and nodded in greeting. “How was Wakanda?”

He thought of the pranks he pulled with Shuri and the conversation he had with Barnes and Rogers. His resolve to tell Tony the truth soon strengthened. “It was good,” he answered truthfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out better than I expected but it took me forever to figure out how I wanted it to flow. Originally, I had Peter feeling angry and unsure how to feel about Steve before scrapping that turning into a more 'wary but curious' approach which worked much better. 
> 
> Haha remember when I said I was aiming for the end of the summer because I do and I wonder how I ever thought that was a possibility. 
> 
> Let me know what you think
> 
> <3 voidfangirl


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